Farming Ahead eMagazine, March 2022

MARCH 2022 No. 362 www.farmingahead.com.au

Autumn lambing checklist Chickpea revival in WA Stock containment areas 50 series Patriot sprayer

RESEARCH REPORT:

CATTLE CRUSHES FROM THE WORKSHOP: GASLESS MIG WELDING

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MARCH 2022 No. 362 www.farmingahead.com.au @KondininGroup Kondinin Group

Editorial Senior editor / machinery researcher: Mark Saunders Research general manager: Ben White Engineering manager: Josh Giumelli Online researcher: Macey Hill Contributors: Jill Griffiths, Nicola Bell, Claire Harris Enquiries: editorial@kondinin.com.au

Advertising Advertising sales executive: Gillian Doreian Enquiries: gillian.doreian@aspermont.com

Digital and Creative Group digital & creative director: Abisola Obasanya Senior layout designer: Catherine Hogan Enquiries: print.management@aspermontmedia.com

Subscriptions www.farmingahead.com.au/subscribe Phone: 1800 677 761 Email: contact@kondinin.com.au

Executive Chairman: Andrew Kent Managing director: Alex Kent Group chief operating officer: Ajit Patel Group chief financial officer: Nishil Khimasia Chief content & strategy officer: Ian Hart Chief commercial officer: Matt Smith COPYRIGHT WARNING: The opinions expressed in Farming Ahead are not necessarily those of Kondinin Information Services Pty Ltd (ABN: 72 133 413 920), trading as Kondinin Group. All material appearing in Farming Ahead is the subject of copyright owned by Kondinin Group and is protected under the Australian Copyright Act (1968), international copyright and trademark law. No portion may be reproduced or duplicated by any process without the prior written permission of Kondinin Group.

DISCLAIMER: This publication is for information purposes only.

The publisher and its agents or employees shall not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of reliance on any of the contents hereof, whether such loss or damage arises from the negligence or misrepresentation or any act or omission of the publisher or its agents.

SN 1038-1678 Printing: Vanguard Press Kondinin Information Services Pty Ltd is a fully owned subsidiary of Aspermont Ltd.

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CENTRE LIFTOUT RESEARCH REPORT

CATTLE CRUSHES

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FROM THE WORKSHOP

Editorial

Livestock

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Marching towards autumn

Company profiles

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6 8

40

Cyclone Croplands

Health and safety 10

New safety resources launched online

Machinery 12 15 16 17 18 19 20

New products and services New Case IH 50 series Patriot sprayer is smarter and faster Individual nozzle control hits the right spot Farm machinery scholarship available Ahern Australia appointed Faresin Industries distributor Safety and comfort features added to Toyota HiLux and Fortuner Weed seed mills report highlights need for ratified protocol

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Nutritive value of stubbles examined

Cropping 47 48 51 53

Chickpea success boiled down to a few key tips Cropping greenhouse gas baseline established New MD appointed to peak grains body Hyper yielding barley cracks 10 tonnes to the hectare

Weather 54

Autumn moisture profiles shaping up well

Market information 55 56

23 25

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27 28 29

Investigating feed nutrition to improve sheep health Careful attention required for successful autumn period Stock Containment Areas help preserve resources

Pastures and soils

Special feature Chasing efficient grain handling Waringa introduces 63 tonne Haulmaster chaser bin Dunstan range adapts to change US-made bins offered by Oz Value Balzer noted for big capacity

Grain supply chains in full swing The bigger picture on livestock greenhouse gas emissions Sprouted wheat a good option for animal feed in Asian markets

Ideas & innovations 58

Next level sheep feeding

From the workshop

Farm photo

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59

Getting the best out of gasless welding

GASLESS MIG WELDING

Click go the family shears

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Subscribe today! Visit www.farmingahead.com.au, phone 1800 677 761 or email membership@kondinin.com.au

Sow what? Heading into the autumn, growers will be contemplating planting strategies in a fairly fluid global market.

Photo: Mark Saunders

FROM THE

EDITOR

Marching towards autumn

W

elcome to autumn and hopefully a return to more settled seasonal conditions following a summer of generally above average rainfall, fires and floods.

In some cases, the weather has tipped into extreme territory, resulting in serious damage due to wind and run off erosion.

At the time of publication, some coastal and inland regions of New South Wales were being smashed with record rainfalls following an already wet summer.

Given the generally wetter than average conditions over the summer, various agricultural state bodies and research bodies are issuing alerts and warnings for crop disease potential this winter.

Stripe rust in wheat is an example of a disease on the alert list following a wet harvest for many and ideal green bridge development over the warmer months.

State agricultural bodies will all have easily accessible resources to help with crop disease management, for example, the recently-released cereal disease guide for 2022 from Agriculture Victoria.

Other developments in the grain market have arisen unfortunately due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. www.farmingahead.com.au

Full scale war between the two countries will have potentially huge impacts on global grain markets. As Rabobank recently pointed out, the Black Sea region accounts for 34 per cent of global wheat exports, and an all-in conflict between Russia and Ukraine will see exports out of the region grind to a halt, at least in the short term, due to blockages to shipping and the high cost or lack of availability of insurance for vessels.

Rabobank also points out that apart from wheat, the Russia/Ukraine conflict will likely see disruptions to canola and feed markets, including barley. Ukraine is the third-largest exporter of canola in the world after Australia and Canada, while, together, Russia and Ukraine are the largest producers and exporters of sunflower seeds and sunflower oil.

TRAVEL Some welcome news recently was the announcement of easing of travel restrictions into Western Australia.

The easing has provided some confidence to get back into our core research where the research team can be in the same place at the same time.

It’s been a long time between drinks for the team and we look forward to getting on with our task of providing independent research for broadacre farmers.

HELP US HELP YOU Speaking of research, this edition of the Farming Ahead magazine has our annual National Agricultural Survey (NAS) attached which really is a ‘must do’ for all Kondinin Group members.

The NAS shapes our research program and ensures what we do remains relevant and in line with Kondinin Group members’ needs. The survey only takes about 12 minutes to complete and can be submitted online if necessary at www.farmingahead.com.au/nas National Agricultural

Survey 2022

Please take 12 minutes 12 months of indepen to direct dent research

Instructions

1. Please complete this survey and return to the reply paid address by April 2. Answer only the question 30, 2022. s that apply to your enterpris e.

3. Fill in the NAS for your chance to win one of five 12-month Kondinin Group memberships or member

ship extensions.

This survey can also be filled-in online at

www.farmingahead.com.au /nas

INDEPENDENT IN FORMATION FOR AG R I C U LT U R E

Mark Saunders mark.saunders@kondinin.com.au No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

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SPONSORED FEATURE

CYCLONE Max value: Cyclone makes its silos in Australia and covers all aspects of the grain handling chain.

Cyclone Silos – grain storage done the right way On farm grain storage is an important strategy for all grain farmers but maximising the value when the market hits a peak is dependent on the quality of the grain in your silo.

C

yclone is a well-known and trusted name in Australian agriculture with a proven reputation spanning generations of farmers.

Cyclone’s wide range of on-ground and elevated silos are manufactured in Australia and installed by experienced Agridealers in all states.

The combined strength of Cyclone and our partners means we can offer comprehensive advice, as well as the complete design and installation of silo-

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Farming Ahead March 2022 No. 362

based grain storage systems for one or many silos.

These systems include storage, loading and unloading, weighbridges, and aeration along with monitoring and control systems.

Andrew Fisher, national sales manager for Cyclone Silos, is proud of his product range and manufacturing quality.

“Cyclone Silos will have a specific design for your requirements and region which considers grain load, terrain conditions, and wind load,” Fisher said.

“Cyclone Silos also provide its customers with an independently certified silo specific design review statement and certified foundation construction drawings to provide peace of mind when it comes to the structural integrity of the build.”

Cyclone’s designs have come a long way since 1975. Our design team have not been resting on their laurels, making significant improvements in structural integrity and sealability such as, sealable access ports, ground opening lids, www.farmingahead.com.au

structural door frames, inner and outer access door seals, full ring structural eave plates and many more design updates.

These are all built around the silos’ existing 25-year design life. Many of these updates make the silo seal more reliable when pressure testing to ensure it meets Australian Standard AS2628.

In addition to providing gas tight silos that meet AS2628, the Cyclone design offers a class leading one-in-200year wind event design certification as standard with all silos.

reengineered aeration system this year, which has been built on the advice of the GRDC and research from the University of South Australia.

The system is manufactured in Australia to meet Australian conditions.

Cyclone Silos’ aeration system consists

range of grain types and in diameters of 12, 18, 24, and 30ft with storage capacities from 40 to 783 tonnes.

The options for on-ground storage extend from 24ft diameter 5.6m tall for 218 tonnes of wheat right up to 60ft diameter/20m tall for 4735 tonnes of

“Cyclone Silos will have a specific design for your requirements and region which considers grain load, terrain conditions, and wind load.”

– Andrew Fisher, national sales manager for Cyclone Silos

CONTROL Maintaining stored grain quality relies on the ability to control moisture, temperature and insects. Good aeration and fumigation work together to keep these factors in check. An aeration system with a design matched to the silo delivers the air flow required to keep grain cool, dry and free from insect infestation. Should fumigation be required a gas tight silo is a must as phosphene based fumigants will only work effectively in a gas-tight silo.

The Cyclone design team have also been working to launching a completely

of matched fans, ducts, trenches and ventilators to both the silo (size and type) and the grain type. All while allowing the silo to be resealed should fumigation need to occur.

OPTIONS There are over 180 design combinations in the Cyclone Silo product range. The Cyclone range delivers storage capacities from 40 to 5000 tonnes across all silos.

Elevated cone bottom silos are available in 47 degree cone angle to suit a wide

wheat. Cyclone have the right silo for your project.

With another a huge season expected this year, our Cyclone Silos team have been busy. For this reason, Cyclone recommends that you plan and place an order now for next year’s preseason builds.

More information: Contact the Cyclone Customer Service team on 1800 199 450 to discuss your grain storage requirements today.

Cyclone makes a range of silos covering capacities of 40 to 5000 tonnes. www.farmingahead.com.au

No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

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SPONSORED FEATURE

CROPLANDS

Happy birthday: Croplands is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Croplands marks 50 years with Adelaide expansion Renowned spray equipment company Croplands Equipment is marking its 50-year anniversary in 2022 by expanding its Adelaide assembly plant, enabling it to bring products to market faster for the benefit of Australian farmers.

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he expanded facility, situated at Dry Creek, will mean more capacity and greater efficiency for Croplands, enabling faster order turnaround.

Croplands Equipment General Manager Sean Mulvaney said the expansion would see the company’s current facility increase in size by 40 per cent and offer new employment opportunities.

“An ever-expanding product range and growing demand for Croplands products has been the catalyst for our expansion at Dry Creek,” Mulvaney said.

“We pride ourselves on being resourceful and adaptable in meeting the needs of our customers and this investment will only increase our capacity to do so.

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Farming Ahead March 2022 No. 362

“The expansion will also mean we have greater stock on-hand to support farmers so they can be as efficient as possible.”

Since its inception in 1972, Croplands has grown to become one of the most popular sprayer brands on the market, servicing the broadacre, horticulture, viticulture, tree crop, compact and home garden sectors.

The company has a long history of delivering practical solutions for farmers across the world which began when Croplands founder Miles Deck developed the original Cropliner air-blast sprayer in the 1970s.

Mulvaney said examples of this included WEED-IT optical spot spraying technology for broadacre farmers and the Quantum Mist sprayers for vineyards and tree crops.

“We have sold in excess of 15,000 WEED-IT sensors, which demonstrates how Australian farmers are chasing the latest technology to drive sustainability and efficiency by only spraying the parts of the paddock that need to be sprayed,” he said.

“The Quantum Mist is another terrific example of cutting-edge technology, with its axial driven hydraulic fans creating a turbulence among the leaves of vines or trees that produces unrivalled coverage and has been a game-changer in vineyard spraying.

“Our equipment is designed to help crops and farmers thrive.

“Croplands has been owned by Nufarm since 1988, but we continue to be guided by the strong family values that marked our beginning back in the 1972 with Miles Deck and the Cropliner.” www.farmingahead.com.au

Sensorble: Croplands’ WEED-IT sensors are making a big difference when it comes to efficient chemical application.

Mulvaney said the collaboration with Nufarm enabled Croplands to support its customers from the machinery and equipment right through to application in the field.

“Through Nufarm, we have a major focus on chemical stewardship and together we hold many SprayWise application days,” he said.

“That means our customers don’t just get the sprayer, they also get the support in nozzle selection and best practice spray application as well.”

In addition to expanding its assembly plant, Croplands will be marking its 50th year with a number of exciting new product releases, with more detail to be revealed later in the year.

“We will continue to partner with farmers across Australia and the world to bring them the equipment they need to be profitable and productive,” Mulvaney said.

“Key to that will be our strong relationships with our dealer network and the back-up of our tech team on the ground.”

More information: For more details, visit www.croplands.com.au Broadacre: The Croplands Pegasus 8000-litre trailed sprayer.

www.farmingahead.com.au

No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

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HEALTH AND SAFETY FARM SAFETY RESOURCES New resources: Farm safety resources should be easier to find with a couple of new websites from state farming bodies.

New safety resources launched online Two new farm safety resources have been launched in recent months, with the aim to make information around farm safety easier to find. By Nicola Bell

B

oth the NSW Farmers and the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) have created new websites, as the number of injuries and deaths due to accidents onfarm remain too high.

NSW Farmers has partnered with SafeWork NSW on the Farm Safety Advisory Program, which aims to reduce injuries in the agriculture industry.

The website provides a central location for valuable resources, as well as links and updates for important events related to farm safety. Some of the resources available on the website include, work health and safety tools and resources split up by sector. There is also the ability to submit a question about farm safety.

It also provides access to dedicated farm safety advisors, which offers tailored advice for farming businesses work, health and safety needs.

The free farm safety advisor program, in partnership with the NSW Government, offers practical tools and

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Farming Ahead March 2022 No. 362

specialised advisors to improve health and safety, tailored for farmers.

The NSW Farmers farm safety advisors can support farmers by holding a discussion or information session on safety topics specific to your needs and farm; working with farmers to identify safety issues; providing practical resources to be able to farm safely, including induction checklists, hazard checklists, safe work procedures and safety awareness videos NSW Farmers chief executive officer, Pete Arkle, said on-farm safety was an important issue, and encouraged everyone working in or around the sector to refresh their knowledge of the risks involved in agriculture.

“Farming can be a dangerous profession with heavy machinery, remote workplaces and often poor phone and internet connectivity,” Arkle said.

With new workplace, health and safety information and resources becoming available relatively frequently, it’s important farmers stay abreast of the

changes. Arkle said this one-stop shop made it easier than ever to stay up-to-date on safety.

SAFER VICTORIAN FARMS Meanwhile, the VFF has launched a website to complement its Making Our Farm Safer project.

Similar to the NSW Farmers website, VFF president Emma Germano, said the website aimed to be a onestop information hub for farm safety information.

“Keeping ourselves, our family members, and employees safe on our farms is of the most crucial importance in our businesses,” Germano said.

The VFF website is a free service for VFF Members and all Victorian farmers as part of the Victorian Government’s commitment to address safety and skill development in the agricultural sector.

Some of the resources available on the website include, practical guides on quad bike safety, farm machinery guarding, www.farmingahead.com.au

keeping kids safe on farm, machinery operation guide, spraying pesticides and first aid on-farm.

The Making Our Farms Safer project launched in April 2020. It provides dedicated safety specialists offering support, up-skilling and guidance to all Victorian Farmers. It is delivered through the provision of farm visits, community meetings, a monthly newsletter and a toolkit of handbooks and resources to assist and educate farmers on implementing and maintaining safety on their farms.

As part of the service, the VFF also offers farm safety advisor visits to Victorian farms. The aim is to work with farmers to identify risks and offer solutions on how they can reduce or eliminate them, as well as provide a variety of resources including induction and policy and procedure templates.

WHAT A FARM VISIT ENTAILS Any Victorian farming business can book one of three options for a farm visit.

The first is a farm safety consult, where a farm safety advisor will work with the farm to develop a farm safety plan designed to make it a safe place to work while still being a productive farm.

The second option is a farm safety walk and talk, where a farmer and their neighbours can get together with a farm safety advisor to learn about their various occupational health and safety responsibilities and put some plans in place.

And the third option is a health and safety management systems review, which entails an independent farm safety

Heavy: Machinery can make things easier on the farm but also be a potential danger.

advisor teaming up with a farmer to review their existing plans and evolve them to make sure they are meeting all industry standards and recommendations.

FIVE REASONS FOR RISK According to the VFF, there are many reasons why accidents happen on farms and they have identified the top five reasons why they might occur. They include: 1. Done it all before. Just because you’ve done a job hundreds of times before doesn’t mean that you’ve eliminated the risk.

2. Time is money. Pressures on time and resources can lead to risky work practices.

3. Too tired to think. Fatigue leads to poor decision-making. Long days with few breaks increase the risks significantly.

4. Lots of moving parts. Heavy machinery is part of farming. It makes our lives easier, but also increases the potential dangers.

5. Just this once. Taking shortcuts or using quick fixes may get you out of a hole from time to time, but they might not get you home safely.

While both websites farm safety advisor programs are aimed at Victorian and NSW farmers, there are plenty of resources and general information about safety that can be applied across states and different farming enterprises.

More information: • Making our farms safer: www.makingourfarmssafer.org.au • NSW Farm Safety Advisory Program: www.nswfarmsafety.org.au

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No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

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MACHINERY NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Next Raptor arrives The Next-Generation Ford Ranger Raptor is incoming and features a 3.0-litre V6 Twin Turbo EcoBoost engine producing up to 292kW (392hp) at 5650rpm and 583Nm of torque at 3500rpm.

The 3.0-litre V6 petrol has a compacted, graphite-iron cylinder block, which is around 75 per cent stronger and up to 75 per cent ‘stiffer’ than the iron used in traditional castings, according to Ford.

Raptor’s anti-lag system – available in the vehicle’s Baja2 mode – keeps the turbochargers spinning for up to three seconds after the driver backs off the throttle, allowing for faster resumption of acceleration out of corners or between gears when the driver gets back on the accelerator.

Mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission – each gear is programmed with its own boost profile.

An electronically controlled active valve exhaust system amplifies the engine note in four selectable drive

Be guided

modes (Quiet, Normal, Sport and Baja2).

Drivers can choose their preferred engine sound by pressing a button on the steering wheel, or by selecting a drive mode that uses one of these settings.

Grain growers are urged to consider their disease management plans for winter crops, using Agriculture Victoria’s 2022 Cereal Disease Guide.

Produced with support from the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), the guide provides updated information on crop disease ratings and advice on how to reduce the risk from disease.

Agriculture Victoria senior research scientist, Dr Grant Hollaway, said an example of a disease that will be

important this season is stripe rust, which can cause significant yield losses in wheat.

“There will be disease carry over on volunteer cereals growing over summer due to recent above average rainfall,” Dr Holloway said.

Dr Hollaway recommends using the tablet-based app StripeRustWM, to support in-crop fungicide decisions.

The app is free for iPad and Android tablet users and can be downloaded from the Apple App or Google Play stores. More details: https://agriculture. vic.gov.au

analyse data they are generating on their farm to make more informed decisions.

“Digital farming integrates detailed information on factors such as weather conditions, soil moisture, soil nutrient

levels and crop health to improve on-farm decision-making, leveraging application technology and data science to maximise efficiency and productivity,” Staff said.

Smart field option Bayer has announced that it will be launching its digital farming platform, FieldView, in Australia. Bayer says the platform will enable Australia’s cotton and cereal farmers to work smarter, by combining expertise and knowledge of the land with modern, digitally-enabled tools.

The decision follows two seasons of working with growers across Australia to beta-test FieldView in local conditions and ensuring the platform is suited to the specific needs of Australian growers.

Bayer’s Head of Digital Farming ANZ, Chris Staff, said enhanced digital capabilities will support Bayer’s efforts to help Australian farmers gain a deeper understanding of their operations, allowing them to collect, visualise and

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Farming Ahead March 2022 No. 362

www.farmingahead.com.au

Hay buyout AgTrade’s livestock nutrition division, ThriveAgri, has acquired Hay Australia.

Responsible for approximately 10 per cent of Australia’s 1.35 million tonnes of hay exports last year, Hay Australia’s operations in Victoria and Western Australia source from producers to provide a premium product range to dairy, beef and equine customers – in both domestic and international markets.

AgTrade chief executive officer, Justin Slaughter, said adding the business to the AgTrade portfolio would broaden ThriveAgri’s reach across animal nutrition and present new opportunities to both producers and buyers of hay products.

Slaughter said Hay Australia would have opportunities to leverage AgTrade’s half a century of trusted partnerships in

Regional comms boost

livestock industries, while also supplying hay to its own portfolio of livestock, genetics and meat supply chains.

Telstra and TPG Telecom have announced a 10-year regional MultiOperator Core Network (MOCN) commercial deal which should improve mobile phone coverage for regional areas.

Under the deal, which is yet to be approved by regulators, TPG Telecom will gain access to around 3700 of Telstra’s mobile network assets, increasing TPG Telecom’s current 4G coverage from around 96 per cent to 98.8 per cent of the population.

Telstra will gain access to TPG

Telecom’s spectrum across 4G and 5G networks, which will allow it to grow its network and increase capacity.

For Telstra customers, the additional spectrum will ensure regional and rural customers should now experience faster speeds and less congestion in more locations on their mobiles.

Under the MOCN arrangement Telstra will also share its Radio Access Network (RAN) for 4G and subsequently 5G services in the defined coverage zone, however both carriers will continue to operate their own core network where key differentiating functionality resides.

agronomy has seen lentil production in Australia increased from 196,000 tonnes in 2011 to over 500,000 tonnes in 2021, with an estimated annual farmgate value of $350 million.

Agriculture Victoria senior research

scientist, Dr Garry Rosewarne, said the latest investment partnership with GRDC was welcomed by the research team as an opportunity to continue creating new and improved lentil varieties for growers.

Lentil leader The lentil breeding program at the Grains Innovation Park in Horsham, Victoria will receive a revamp thanks to a significant investment from Agriculture Victoria and the Grain Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

The new investment adds to a longstanding commitment by the GRDC to support research, development and extension (RD&E) into lentils.

Over the past decade, the GRDC together with research partners, have invested $16 million in the Pulse Breeding Australia (PBA) lentil breeding program, which has delivered nine varieties with improved yield and a better fit for southern farming systems.

Additional investment into lentil www.farmingahead.com.au

No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

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MACHINERY Faster: Case IH’s new 50 series Patriot self-propelled sprayer has a top speed of almost 60km/h. Photo courtesy Case IH

New Case IH 50 series Patriot sprayer is smarter and faster

C

ASE IH has announced a new 50 series Patriot selfpropelled sprayer which has undergone a complete re-design to now include more spraying modes, a MultiControl armrest and a road speed of 59.5km/h.

Case IH says the new sprayer aims to deliver improved efficiency and operator comfort, along with enhanced connectivity and remote management capabilities.

“It’s an exciting expansion of our selfpropelled application equipment line-up with three new models – the Patriot 3250, 4350, and 4450,” said Case IH ANZ product manager Patriot Sprayers, Jason Wood.

“This has been a comprehensive re-design of one of our flagship models and the benefits are obvious from the first time you sit in the cab: more comfortable

to operate, complete vehicle control, and technology features offered for the first time in the Patriot,” he said.

Tank capacities available are 6057L (4450 model), 4542L (4350 model) and 3785L (3250 model).

The Patriot’s AIM Command spray system technology has been stepped up with the option of adding AIM Command FLEXII, offering six modes of operation for greater accuracy and control across chemical application rates, pressure and droplet size, and individual nozzle on/ off control for increased precision.

Wood said the unique MultiControl armrest layout offered in current-model Steiger and Magnum tractors, and proving popular with operators, was now a feature of the Patriot 50 series sprayers, too, providing the advantage of keeping commonly-used controls at operators’ fingertips.

Disc/Tyne Hybrid Air Drill

Dual Shoot Separation www.farmingahead.com.au

Presswheel Sets Depth

Easy Maintenance

Other features include a four-bar linkage chassis suspension system, a suite of technology solutions capable of performing wireless file transfers, sharing guidance lines, creating prescription maps, fleet management, data sharing and product control, and integrated AutoBoom XRT Automatic Boom Height control.

A new boom centre section design minimises boom yaw in challenging conditions, according to Case IH. Currently being rolled out across the Case IH tractor ranges, AFS Connect is now offered in the Patriot, providing connectivity, guidance, data and monitoring solutions.

Every Patriot 50 series sprayer comes with an AFS Connect-compatible modem and a five-year subscription from the factory.

Case IH expects to see models in Australia later in the year.

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No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

15

MACHINERY

Individual nozzle control hits the right spot

A

g Leader has added to its range of integrated application solutions with the release of the RightSpot spraying system. The latest offering in Ag Leader’s DirectCommand portfolio of precision planting, spreading and spraying technology, RightSpot controls up to 144 spray nozzles individually for more consistent and accurate coverage over a range of operating speeds.

The system can be retrofitted to a wide range of self-propelled and trailed sprayers.

Ag Leader Asia Pacific sales manager, Doug Amos, said spraying crops is one of the most demanding jobs in modern farming systems.

“Spraying is extremely time-sensitive and time-intensive,” Amos said.

“With increasing input costs and tightening environmental regulations, producers need to be looking at ways of increasing the efficacy, accuracy and productivity of their spraying operations.

“Adding nozzle-by-nozzle control to their existing sprayer can deliver immediate agronomic and financial benefits by minimising under- or over-application and the potential for spray drift.”

RightSpot utilises pulse width modulation technology to maintain a consistent, userdefined boom pressure and application rate, regardless of operating speed.

“A traditional sprayer regulates the application rate by increasing or decreasing boom pressure as the ground speed of the sprayer changes,” Amos said.

“This means any reduction in speed, such

Spot on: Ag Leader’s new RightSpot sprayer control can handle up to 144 nozzles. Image courtesy Ag Leader

as when travelling over rough conditions or around obstacles, will produce a larger droplet size, resulting in reduced coverage and efficacy. Conversely, any increase in speed will result in a smaller droplet size increasing the risk of chemical drift onto adjacent crops. With RightSpot, flow rate and pressure are controlled independently.

This means the operator can speed up or slow down without sacrificing the droplet size or coverage.”

RightSpot is controlled using Ag Leader’s universal InCommand 1200 terminal, which also controls the company’s steering/ guidance systems, precision planting and spreading solutions and decision support systems. RightSpot will be available via the Ag Leader dealer network throughout Australia from spring onwards.

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Farming Ahead March 2022 No. 362

www.farmingahead.com.au

Farm machinery scholarship available

T

he Tractor and Machinery Association (TMA) has announced the launch of a scholarship to promote career opportunities within the farm machinery sector of Australia.

The scholarship is co-funded by Macdon and named after industry advocate John Ciavarella.

John Ciavarella worked in the agricultural industry for many years, and firmly believed that everyone deserved the opportunity to succeed.

His commitment, dedication and inclusion of fellow workers got the best out of everyone. He always fought to achieve the best for his clients and customers and was a true friend and mentor to many. The scholarship which is co-funded by the TMA and Macdon is named in his honour.

The scholarship is open to any student currently enrolled in an Australian-based agribusiness course and can demonstrate

an interest and passion for agribusiness and/or the farm machinery sector.

Applications open 1 March.

Through the provision of funds to a student/graduate, and subsequent exposure to management level industry participants, the purpose of the scholarship is to highlight the career opportunities within the farm machinery sector in Australia.

Any student currently enrolled in an Australian-based agribusiness related degree or diploma, and/or any current student enrolled in a non-agribusiness course and can demonstrate an interest and passion for agribusiness and/or the farm machinery sector can apply.

Applicants are invited to address the topic “How can Agricultural Machinery be used in a practical way to increase sustainability in farm production?” by written submission and may address the topic in whatever practical, theoretic or creative way as they see fit.

Rural employment business Rimfire Resources will receive and review applications and provide a list of applications for the TMA board and Macdon to decide on the finalists.

Finalists (no more than four) would be invited (either in person or virtually if required) to present to the board of the TMA at their annual conference in Melbourne on 20 July. Finalists will be asked to give a short presentation on their proposed project/idea.

Applications close 30 April.

Applications can be emailed to ncrawley@rimfireresources.com.au.

Applications are to be in Word or PDF Format only and must not exceed three A4 pages in length.

All applications will be acknowledged by receipt of email and all applicants will receive notification of their success once finalists are selected.

For more information, visit: https://bit.ly/3vgqwv9

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No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

17

MACHINERY

Ahern Australia appointed Faresin Industries distributor

A

hern Australia has been appointed as the Australian distributor for Faresin Industries agricultural

products.

As the new master distributor for Faresin Industries feed mixer wagons and agricultural telehandlers, Ahern Australia is now the sole importer of these products and associated spare parts and attachments.

Ahern Australia has established a specialist Ahern Australia agricultural division to manage this range of products, and has appointed a dealer network to sell and service these products to customers.

The dealer network has access to new Faresin product inventory and technical

support from as well as spare parts from a national spare parts warehouse in New South Wales.

The new agricultural division is complementary to Ahern Australia’s existing operations within the construction and rental sectors and the businesses’ well-established relationship with Faresin Industries via the construction telehandlers marketed under the Snorkel brand.

Ahern Australia has appointed two business development managers in their new agricultural division; Clayton Schmidt and David Soderstrom, who are both agricultural equipment specialists.

Ahern Australia has been servicing the equipment industry since 1989 and is

today part of the global Ahern family of companies. Privately held, the group is owned by Don F. Ahern, owner of Ahern Rentals, the largest independent rental company in the United States.

Glenn Martin, managing director of Ahern Australia, said of the appointment, “we are proud and excited to be appointed as the official distributor for Faresin Industries’ agricultural products. Faresin has had success to date in Australia and we are looking forward to build upon this strong foundation.”

Ahern Australia has added an agricultural section to its website, including a list of authorised dealers. For more information, visit www.ahernaustralia.com.au

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Farming Ahead March 2022 No. 362

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Upgraded: Toyota’s HiLux ute has been upgraded for 2022.

Photo courtesy Toyota

Safety and comfort features added to Toyota HiLux and Fortuner

T

oyota has updated its HiLux ute and Fortuner Sports Utility Vehicle with a variety of comfort and safety features including Toyota Connected Services as being standard on all models.

Toyota Connected Services is able to automatically generate an emergency call to Toyota’s 24/7 Emergency Call Centre and relay the location of the vehicle in the event of a collision that requires intervention, or if an airbag deploys.

Occupants can also manually trigger an emergency call to the call centre via an SOS button, allowing them to determine the vehicle’s location and coordinate with emergency services.

If the vehicle is reported stolen, Toyota

Connected Services can also assist authorities to help track the vehicle’s location via a stolen vehicle tracking service.

The HiLux’s roof antenna has been replaced by a sharkfin design antenna on all models to help reduce the potential for damage, while SR5 variants now feature an upgraded front dual-zone climate control system, replacing single-zone climate control.

The flagship HiLux Rogue also gains a panoramic view monitor as standard.

The HiLux is offered with the choice of three engines with a feature being the 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, shared with the Fortuner, and developing 150kW of power and 500Nm of torque

when teamed to the six-speed automatic transmission.

HiLux 4x2 variants can be fitted with a 110kW/400Nm 2.4L turbo-diesel engine or a 2.7L petrol four-cylinder that offers maximum outputs of 122kW and 245Nm. All 4x4 grades feature a low-range transfer case for improved off-road ability, while all Fortuner grades and HiLux SR, SR5, Rogue and Rugged X variants also incorporate a rear differential lock as standard. Maximum braked towing capacity is rated at 3500kg on HiLux and 3100kg on Fortuner.

Both HiLux and Fortuner are covered by the five-year Toyota Warranty Advantage and seven-year Toyota Warranty Advantage Extended Engine and Driveline.

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No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

19

MACHINERY

Weed seed mills report highlights need for ratified protocol

By Ben White

A

report on weed seed mill efficacy has highlighted the need for manufacturer, research community and industry buy-in.

The report was conducted to measure the efficacy of harvest weed seed mills mounted to a harvester and to benchmark the relative ryegrass seed kill performance of these mills. The report can be viewed at https://tinyurl.com/trengovehwsc.

The research has highlighted the need for a ratified consensus on mill testing protocol and active manufacturer engagement.

It is important to note that the research, conducted by South Australian-based research organisation Trengove Consulting,

20

Farming Ahead March 2022 No. 362

was funded by Seed Terminator, the manufacturer of one of the mills tested.

Seed Terminator stated it funded the research because it wanted farmers to have acceess to comparative data sooner rather than later and were able to easily add the research to their regular mill technology testing program.

The results found a difference in ryegrass kill efficacy with a mean annual ryegrass control of 98.6 per cent for the Seed Terminator, 97.7 per cent for the iHSD, and 86.7 per cent for the Redekop SCU. For context, the report notes “The Seed Terminator and iHSD were newly fitted to the harvesters and had not been operated in the field prior to testing. The Redekop mill

tested had operated for 222 hours on the active rotor edge during the 2020 harvest (432 total hours on both active edges).”

Research conducted by harvest weed seed control (HWSC) expert, Mike Walsh, determined little variation in efficacy for a worn mill compared to a new mill when testing an iHSD a number of years ago. Internal manufacturer testing aside, no other efficacy testing has been independently conducted on other mills as they wear. Either way, Trengove’s research highlights a need for an approach to a testing methodology that is both ratified by all manufacturers and inclusive in their engagement. It would seem that all parties are willing to participate.

www.farmingahead.com.au

WeedSmart’s HWSC extension guru, Peter Newman, has actively engaged all major and emerging manufacturers of weed seed mills and says all have indicated a commitment to working on a solution.

Newman says a test-bench approach to exclude harvester-related variables is the most likely outcome. He says researchers and manufacturers working together to ratify an agreed test methodology encompassing all other variables which could affect efficacy including material feed rates, moisture contents and seed viability assessments, is the most likely way forward.

WeedSmart has been active in working with these groups to maintain open lines of communication between all of these parties.

In a statement addressing the Trengove research, president and co-owner of Redekop, Trevor Thiessen, endorsed Newman’s comments.

Thiessen said: “Redekop is committed to providing solutions for Harvest Residue and Harvest Weed Seed Control and very willing to participate in standardized Kill Rate Testing in Australia that would involve all manufacturers of mechanical mill systems. The work done by Dr. Walsh is a good standard, and is now being used by researchers in other parts of the world when they are testing HWSC devices.

We feel this is a good starting point for Australian standard research testing. We feel that each manufacturer should be able to represent the products in an equal and fair way.”

Thiessen added “There are many factors that can be tested and explored beyond basic kill rates. We think a round of consultation with farmers to determine

what factors are important for them to have an understating of would be valuable.

“Everything from horsepower requirements to impact of worn mills on kill rates could be considered in a standardized testing protocol.”

Kondinin Group put a series of questions to Seed Terminator’s Nick Berry around the work they commissioned Trengove to undertake, including what prompted the investment in testing.

“The success of the mill industry making a difference to sustainability of farming relies on the mills actually being able to kill weed seeds,” Berry said.

“The challenge for the consumer is that it is not easy to determine if it’s working or not, so data was needed. The testing protocol had already been ratified through SAGIT funding Trengrove Consulting and the University of Adelaide Weed Science Group to do a thorough evaluation of the Seed Terminator in a whole range of weed species. To benchmark other mills in the market using the ratified testing protocol was an obvious next step that our research partners were really keen to conduct.

“As it was beyond the scope of the project, it meant a new application for funds. It takes a huge amount of time to go through the grant application process, right through to getting the results reported and by that time, technology is likely to have changed. To get some cut through we just funded the work and got it done.

“Going forward, we believe that the mill industry needs to take a legislative brand approach, where manufacturers take responsibility for their own validation and push the industry forward

SLUGS & SNAILS LOVE IT TO

for the betterment of sustainable agriculture; it shouldn’t be up to farmer levy funded organisations to hold manufacturers accountable.”

Newman agrees, suggesting manufacturers would likely pay for independent testing of mills using an industry-inclusive agreed and ratified protocol. One of the variables to be addressed is seed species.

According to Berry, “Seeds are of all different shapes, sizes and structure and therefore require totally different amounts of energy to control with a mill.”

“In Australia, annual ryegrass (Lolium Rigidum) has been a major focus for testing, firstly because of its prevalence as a weed species, secondly because it is bloody hard to kill with a mill. This is due to its high fibre to starch ratio (meaning it is very tough) and because it is very light (hitting it doesn’t provide a lot of energy for seed damage),” Berry said.

Berry added “After seed species, seed weight is the next most critical because batch to batch there is a big variance in seed weight. The energy available to damage a seed in a mill is proportional to its mass.”

“Heavy seeds are easier to kill. If we had used a lighter batch of seeds we would see lower kill levels. You can’t take a test using one batch of seed and compare it to another test using another batch of seed.”

Kondinin Group has indicated a willingness to participate and be involved in both the ratification of an industry-wide agreed test protocol, but also be involved in the testing of the mills to provide independent, impartial and accurate efficacy results for Australian farmers.

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No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

21

UNLOAD UP TO 18T PER MINUTE!

Now Available in 63T Capacity!

Largest chaser bin in the Haulmaster range with an additional 13% load capacity Elmer’s exclusive fixed track undercarriage for increased floatation & reduced soil compaction Designed for low maintenance with oil bath hubs & minimal grease points Hydraulically tensioned for better tracking

Maximise Your Unloading Efficiency There is a Haulmaster axle system and capacity option to fit all farming terrain and operations. The Elmer’s Haulmaster range is also available in 30T and 36T single axle wheels or Transfer Tracks, 30T, 36T and 41T tandem axle, and 46T and 55T on fixed tracks, with industry-exclusive features and technology aimed at maximising unloading efficiency.

HAULMASTER PRO JOYSTICK CONTROL

POWERMASTER DIRECT DRIVE GEARBOX

PIVOTING AUGER & SPOUT

The Haulmaster Pro system features a joystick for operating the chaser bin auger and spout and includes an auto-unload function and accurate load tracking.

Powermaster Direct Drive Gearbox eliminates belts and drive chains increasing the auger output capacity for any given tractor power.

4 way pivoting spout and adjustable auger allows for easy unload and accurate distribution of grains into trucks or motherbins.

Get in touch with your new local Elmer’s dealer to secure your Haulmaster.

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SPECIAL FEATURE CHASER BINS Extended: Brandt’s new range of XT chaser bins feature an extended auger reach and forward positioning. Photo courtesy Brandt

Chasing efficient grain handling

C

haser bins are becoming a vital part of grain logistics on farm and as silo storage capacity has increased, so has the size of the humble grain cart.

Many manufacturers now offer chaser bin or grain cart models in capacities upwards of 60-70 tonnes and capable of loading a B-Double truck load in one go.

Previous Kondinin Group research has highlighted the need to prioritise harvest field efficiency for example, before purchasing a second harvester.

Without a chaser bin, it isn’t uncommon for a harvester to spend up to 35 per cent of its time in the paddock unloading or travelling back to the field or mother bin.

And according to South East Wheat Producers Association (SEPWA) research, post maturity yield loss can be around 0.5 per cent per day.

This, combined with the risk of loss or damage to the crop due to weather conditions which can see downgrading costs of around 40 per cent, puts some urgency into harvest.

For an investment of $50,000 – $150,000 in a chaser bin, farmers can improve harvest field efficiency significantly, reclaiming the 35 per cent of harvester unloading and transit time. This ensures the most expensive machine in the www.farmingahead.com.au

paddock, the harvester, is working to capacity as often as possible.

This feature looks at some of the latest developments in chaser bins from Brandt, Dunstan, Waringa (Elmers Haulmaster), MJM (Balzer) and Oz Value Ag.

BRANDT Brandt Agricultural Products recently launched a few new product lines including an expansion of its chaser bin models.

The chaser bins, or grain carts, are the XT series and cover five single axle models (with optional tracks) with capacities of 22 tonnes to 41 tonnes.

Brandt said the new range was developed to ensure efficiency, ease of use and reliability.

The XT series carts are an inverted pyramid design and hence require no floor auger as such while the 510mm diameter unloading auger folds down to run along the side of the bin when not unloading.

Capacities are 22t, 27t, 30t, 35t and 41t and in Australia the XT 1520 (41t) model will retail from $189,000 plus GST. Brandt Australia national manager Troy Croucher said the new series offers easy unloading thanks to an industryleading forward auger reach.

“When unloading, the 20-inch diameter auger spout is about 2.5m ahead of

the cart’s hitch point which brings it pretty much level to most tractor cabs,” Croucher said.

“Combine that reach with a fourdirection spout, and unloading is easy.”

The unloading auger also has almost four metres or vertical reach. The multidirectional spout is standard fit and can be operated through the tractor’s in-cab hydraulic controls or via an optional joystick.

Croucher said the optimised bin design allows for better gravity grain flow and clean out and the auger flighting profile includes 13mm thick raised profile edges.

Another design tweak is that the loading side height and overall bin height has been lowered by 180mm. A two-speed fold auger is also standard as is the folding speed being reduced at the start and end of the folding and unfolding phases.

A ground level access hatch is also standard fit along with a cushioned auger fold hydraulic cylinder.

Optional extras includes the Agrimatics Libra Cart which requires a free download of the Agrimatics Libra Cart App, front-mounted tank viewing ladder, five-point load cells, adjustable axles, flowgate position indicator and a fire suppression kit.

More details: www.brandt.ca No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

23

LEAD THE FIELD.

REACH FARTHER, WORK SMARTER. The all-new Brandt XT-Series chaser bin utilizes simple innovations to eliminate common delays so that you can Lead the Field.

Increased Productivity

Easier to Operate

Engineered for Durability

Industry-leading auger reach delivers ultimate visibility while steep tank angles ensure complete tank cleanout.

Keep your harvest moving with optional features including a joystick control kit, auto-lock auger fold and more.

Robotically-welded frames, modular tanks, protected electrical systems and simple drive systems deliver unrivalled uptime.

brandt.ca

Ahrens Rural ahrensrural.com.au 1800 810 420

Haeuslers haeuslers.com.au 03 50 550 606

Geronimo Farm Equipment geronimo.com.au 02 63 413 369

RDO Equipment rdoequipment.com.au 1300 826 337

SPECIAL FEATURE CHASER BINS Bigger: Waringa Distribution has added a 63 tonne Haulmaster bin to its range.

Photo courtesy Waringa

Waringa introduces 63 tonne Haulmaster chaser bin

T

he Elmer’s Manufacturing Haulmaster is a high-capacity, heavy-duty chaser bin with industry exclusive features and technology aimed at maximising operator unloading efficiency and increasing productivity.

Waringa Distribution is excited to announce the addition of a new 63 tonne (63T) fixed track model to the range for harvest in 2022 to meet the need for greater capacity.

The 63T is the largest chaser bin in the Elmer’s Haulmaster range and offers an additional 13 per cent load capacity and utilises Elmer’s exclusive fixed track undercarriage for increased floatation and reduced soil compaction.

The tracks are also designed for low maintenance with oil bath hubs and minimal grease points and are tensioned hydraulically for better tracking.

The 63T model includes all the features in the Haulmaster range, most notably Elmer’s custom designed, direct-drive Powermaster gearbox.

The Powermaster gearbox eliminates belts and drive chains to maximise grain flow efficiency and increase auger output capacity for more efficient unloading. As a result, Haulmaster chaser bins have an emptying speed of up to 18 tonnes per minute.

The Haulmaster range is also available with the optional Haulmaster Connect wireless scale system and Haulmaster Pro hydraulic joystick control system designed

www.farmingahead.com.au

by Elmer’s to maximise productivity and unloading efficiency.

Using the joystick, the operator has maximum control over the chaser bin and can easily fold/unfold the auger with a quick double tap and operate the proportional 4-way spout. The Haulmaster Connect system offers indepth load tracking based on crop type, paddock, truck, and bin, and has direct scale connection for more accurate loads.

An auto-unload function, where the operator simply enters the required unload weight, is another stand out feature of the software. The auger gates will automatically close once the weight limit is reached to eliminate any guesswork.

This has been extensively tested in Western Australia with Waringa general manager, Sam Abbott, who is happy to report an extremely high accuracy rate that meets the road transport safe loading practices.

Dandaragan, WA, farmer David Brown purchased an Elmer’s Haulmaster chaser bin with the Haulmaster Pro and Haulmaster Connect system and was impressed at how easily the technology has helped streamline his harvesting operations.

“The whole machine works off this joystick. Quick unloading, quick turnarounds, stable platform, it makes the job much easier,” David said.

“The scale feature has been one of the most positive features of the bin, they

are so accurate and gives up to date yield information. You know exactly what you are doing all the time.”

With the introduction of the new 63T model, there is now a Haulmaster axle system and capacity option to fit all farming terrain and operations.

The Elmer’s Haulmaster range is also available in 30t and 36t single axle wheels or Elmer’s Transfer Tracks, 30t, 36t and 41t tandem axle, and 46t and 55t on fixed tracks.

Contact Waringa Distribution or find your nearest dealer at www.waringa.com.au to secure your Haulmaster for 2022.

No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

25

2021 MODEL

RUNOUT

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We’re farmers too. ozvalueag.com.au *Weight based on Wheat (0.79), some specs subject to change.

SPECIAL FEATURE CHASER BINS

Dunstan range adapts to change

T

he Dunstan range of chaser bins has been steadily upgraded in recent years to cater for larger capacities (up to 60 tonnes ) which Dunstan says offers great flexibility.

Duntan’s Craig Miller said the 60 tonner, on tri-axles, can double as a mother bin when needed while still offering the benefits of a well-built chaser bin.

“Other features include load cells, a sloping roof to make loading easier, a 24-inch auger option for fast unloading and rear steering.”

Dunstan has also added a swing out grain conveyor table as an option on its 60 tonne and 45 tonne models.

The full range covers single axle bins of 15t, 18t, 22t and 26t while the dual axle range is available in 26t, 31t, 39t, 45t and 60t configurations.

As well as the extension grain feed tables, controlled traffic systems are catered for with 3m wheel track widths.

The bin structure and design is of a very high standard and Dunstan bins now have an upgraded floor auger clean out system. Floor clean out has changed from a full length slide to front and rear trap doors, operated by spring-loaded levers at the rear of the bin.

The structure incorporates a deep fabricated main chassis section which measures 1150mm. This section tapers to 600mm to fit the walking beam tandem axles (on dual axle models).

Forward of the axles, a 200mm x 130mm wide universal beam continues the chassis line to a sturdy hitch mounted to the truncated A-frame drawbar.

Reinforcing plates and gusseting are used extensively throughout the chassis.

Kondinin Group has inspected Dunstan bins as part of previous research and inspected models fitted with a firefighting kit (tank and rear-mounted hand reel) which is a great safety feature.

Maintenance is helped by the use of

optional grease extension lines and grease nipple banks.

Bin access is via newly designed large side manhole, a safety improvement to avoid the need for climbing ladders at height.

Internally the bin structure is quite clean with very few places for grain to get caught. There are three internal bin wall supports on each side and cross bracing at the top of the bin as well as plenty of support for the roll tarp.

Two oval-shaped sight windows on the front and rear walls provide good visibility into the bin.

The front end of the bins is well laid out with a good hanger for hydraulics and plenty of decals and clearly labelled instructions and warnings (including wheel nut indicators).

Dunstan uses the Agrimatics system in conjunction with the load cells if fitted.

More details: www.dunstanfarmers.com.au

Long reach: Dunstan makes a Controlled Traffic Option for its bins in the form of a grain delivery table. Photo: Mark Saunders www.farmingahead.com.au

No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

27

SPECIAL FEATURE CHASER BINS

US-made bins offered by Oz Value

O

z Value Ag offers a range of chaser bins which are made in Ohio, United States, by the Unverferth family. Unverferth owns and manufactures Brent, Killbros and Parker chaser bins in North America.

The range covers an 1138 model (38 cubic metres capacity or about 30 tonnes of wheat) on a single axle, an 830 (30 cubic metres) and a 1242 model which is 42 cubic metres capacity.

The biggest offered in the range is a Red rig: Oz Value Ag offers a range of chaser bins made in the US by the Unverferth family.

Photo: Mark Saunders

tandem axle, 70 cubic metre capacity bin (which can also be on tracks).

Design is the same throughout the range with a ladder style, welded chassis and bolt-together bin.

Standard features include a manual jack stand, tool box, floor and unload auger and a twin-chain drive feeding a custom-made gearbox.

The augers are computer balanced and run at 1000rpm with unload rate managed by floor auger gates which function from a linkage set up in the bin.

Load cells (DigiStar) are also standard with one located on each side of the single axle and one on the drawbar.

PTO drive is standard and hydraulic dive is an option. A roll tarp is also standard as well as an ‘oversize’ sign and road light kit.

Tyre options start with 800mm wide rubber and tracks are available as an option.

More details: www.ozvalueag.com.au

28

Farming Ahead March 2022 No. 362

www.farmingahead.com.au

Big load: Balzer chaser bins are available in sizes up to 78 tonnes capacity. Photo: Mark Saunders

Balzer noted for big capacity

B

alzer bins are imported into Australia through MJM Equipment, based south of Yarrawonga, north-east Victoria.

The range starts with a 42 tonne tandem axle bin and peaks with the huge 78t tri-axle model.

Other model sizes are 47t tandem axle,

47t tri-axle, 60t tri-axle, 64t tri-axle and 75t tri-axle.

Standard features on the United Statesmade bins include auto-trail steerable axle system (rear wheels on tandem, front and rear on tridem models) rear tracks on track system bins, hydraulic brakes, hydraulic suspension, a patented hydraulic clutch

engagement/disengagement mechanism for the horizontal feeder auger, bi-directional unload auger spout and joystick control.

Other standard fitments are an electronic scale system, 610mm diameter unload auger and 510mm floor auger, hydraulic-operated grain shut off doors, poly bushings on all pivot points, LED work lights on discharge auger and grain tank and a highway LED light/turn signal package.

An automatic drive chain oiler provides lubrication for the gearbox chain drives and the auger discharge height is 4.3m.

A bull pull hitch with 50mm insert is standard as is a 10 gauge steel tank construction (3.4mm thick).

Clean out is via full-length horizontal, drop down, hinged doors which can be hydraulically actuated (optional).

Optional extras include a roll tarp (electric operation as well), and additional hydraulic brakes.

Tyre choices are 1000/55R32, 1050/50R32, 900/60R32 and 800/65R32.

More details: www.mjmequipment.com or phone 1300 697 053

HERE FOR AUSTRALIAN FARMERS FOR OVER 50 YEARS

Dunstan’s have been providing our farmers with world-class farming equipment built tough for Australian conditions, right here in Australia. With industry-leading Chaser and Mother Bins, we offer a full range of bins backed up by Dunstan's Parts and Service teams. That's the Dunstan difference.

WWW.DUNSTANFARMERS.COM.AU 03 5452 1488 sales@dunstanfarmers.com.au

CHASER BINS 18T, 22T, 26T, 31T, 39T, 45T, 60T & MOTHER BINS 85T, 110T, 130T, 150T / SEE OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE www.farmingahead.com.au

No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

29

FROM THE WORKSHOP GASLESS MIG WELDING Cure for gas: Flux core MIG welding wire does away with the need for a cylinder of shielding gas, but welds are often less than perfect. However good results can be obtained with the right set up, correct technique and quality consumables.

Photo: Jo Giumelli

Getting the best out of gasless welding MIG welding hasn’t always been the most portable welding process with the hassle of gas bottles and poor performance in windy conditions.

Out in the paddock, gasless MIG welding is your best friend, but getting good results is tricky. Josh Giumelli explains.

F

ew farm workshops would be without a MIG welder, yet its lack of portability has often seen its use limited to indoors.

Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding is an ideal process for any farm fabrication or repair work, especially if working on new or clean steel surfaces. MIG welding uses a continuous feed of welding filler wire, and weld deposition rates are higher than using stick welding electrodes. This means more metal can be laid down more quickly, and no stops are needed for electrode changes or to chip off slag.

Solid MIG welding wire doesn’t use a flux coating as with a stick welding electrode, so a shielding gas must be used during welding to exclude atmospheric oxygen from the weld pool. For mild steel welding this gas is typically a 25:75 mixture of argon and carbon dioxide but can be changed (along with the wire) for welding different metals such as stainless steel.

Anyone who has forgotten to turn on the gas will appreciate just how poor MIG welds are without gas. Apart from being unsightly, porous welds are practically useless strength-wise. The real disadvantage of gas-shielded MIG welding is that gas must be supplied along with welding wire, which is an additional expense. Until recently, there was also no choice but to pay yearly rental fees on gas bottles, further souring the deal.

The use of gas shielding also restricts the MIG welder to mostly indoors work.

Equipped with a gas cylinder, a MIG welder is cumbersome to transport out in the paddock, although there are smaller gas bottles which are more convenient to move around. The other problem is that any slight breeze tends to blow the shielding gas away, leading to porous, weak welds. While shields can be set up to protect the welder from the wind, it is not always practical.

GASLESS FOR THE GREAT OUTDOORS Gasless or flux core wire puts the portability back into MIG welding. Like a stick welding electrode but in reverse, gasless wire consists of a hollow metal tube with flux placed down the inside.

During welding, the heat melts the flux, producing its own shielding gas. There is no need for a separate shielding gas supply, so no gas cylinder and hence greater portability.

This increased portability is compounded by the current generation of inverter MIG welders which are considerably lighter and more compact than traditional transformer-based units.

Inverter MIG welders are also more efficient and as a result can operate off a smaller generator than a comparable transformer welder.

There are two types of flux core wire available – dual shield and self-shielded.

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Dual shield wire has both a flux core and also requires the use of a shielding gas and is used widely in industry. As the name suggests, self-shielded flux core wire does not require a separate shielding gas and is the process we are looking at this month.

Due to the production of slag, high fume output and the often untidy appearance of weld beads compared to solid wire MIG welding, gasless MIG welding is not often favoured by welders. It is often used due to its convenience, and the belief that it is a cheaper process to operate, although this is not always the case.

Poor experiences with gasless welding shouldn’t prevent farmers from taking advantage of its convenience and versatility. In fact, many of the problems associated with flux core welding can be rectified by a few simple but fundamental changes in equipment setup and welding technique. This month we unlock some of the secrets surrounding gasless welding to help you get the best out of this handy welding wire.

Table 1. Gas versus gasless welding comparison Process Gas

Gasless

Positive electrode

Negative electrode

Push

Pull

Neat, no slag

Less tidy, slag coating

Fume production

Less

Much more

Welding outdoors

Less suitable

Suitable

Welding indoors

Suitable

Suitable

More

Less

Suitability for rusty, dirty surfaces

Less suitable

More suitable

Suitability for galvanised steel

Less suitable

More suitable

Suitability for thin steel

More suitable

Less suitable

Portability

Less portable

More portable

Low

High

Steel, stainless steel, aluminium

Steel

Usually less expensive

More expensive

Electrode polarity Weld travel direction Weld appearance

Surface preparation

Cost of welding wire Metals able to be welded Wire cost

Welding unit selection

Regular MIG

Gasless MIG (uncleaned)

Gas versus gasless

Regular MIG

Gasless MIG (cleaned)

Gasless welds can look pretty awful compared to regular MIG welds, but if you get the basics right then there is nothing stopping you producing good welds. With the gasless weld cleaned up, it doesn’t look that different from the regular MIG weld (right).

There has never been a greater selection of compact MIG welders to choose from, and all will be capable of using flux core wire as long as the polarity can be reversed (see ‘Polarity’ page 32). Some entry-level MIG welders are sole as gasless-only and have no facility to operate with a gas supply if solid wire is used. Most farmers will steer away from these units as they are aimed at hobbyists. Inverter MIG welders are lighter, more compact, more energy efficient than welders of 10 – 15 years ago. Some units are also multi-purpose, with stick and sometimes TIG (tungsten inert gas) capabilities. If you are purchasing a portable unit specifically to use out in the paddock, check generator requirements match equipment at hand.

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FROM THE WORKSHOP GASLESS MIG WELDING SELECTION OF CONSUMABLES

1

Kilo for kilo, gasless wire has less metal content than solid MIG wire, with the flux core making up around 15 to 20 per cent of the total mass of the wire. Apart from producing shielding gas as it melts, the flux also forms a slag coating over the weld bead to protect it from the atmosphere as it cools.

The flux also includes alloying elements to improve the strength and mechanical properties of the weld metal, and arc stabilisers to keep the welding arc smooth and steady without excessive spatter production. In general, low-cost flux core wire will produce more spatter than better quality wire.

2

3

2

3

Most farmers will use 4.5kg coils (middle) in portable units, but the larger 15kg coils will represent better value for money they will only fit larger welders (bottom coil, solid wire shown).

Expect to pay anywhere from $50 to $150 for a 4.5kg, or around $300 for a 15kg spool depending on the brand and type of wire. Half-kilo coils ($15 – $25, top) are designed more for hobby-level welding units but are perfect if you only plan to do a small amount of gasless welding or want to try out a consumable before committing to a large coil.

While there are a few different options available catering for high-strength, low-alloy steels, flux core wire is generally a mild steel welding process.

One of the reasons some people may have had poor experiences with flux core wire is due the poor quality of welding wire. It is fair to say the quality of some of the top-end gasless wire these days is excellent, but you do have to pay for it.

The wire used in most of the examples shown here is BOC Smoothcor GS ($116 for 4.5kg), which welds with virtually no spatter when set up correctly. We also used a coil of CIG Weldskill gasless wire, which was significantly cheaper at $69 and worked quite well. Both products can be thought of as a general purpose welding wire. Shown above are two welds with identical settings, with the BOC wire to the left and the CIG wire to the right.

GASLESS WELDING SETUP

1

Polarity

If you take home only one single message from this article, it is this point. Incorrect welder polarity setup is often the main reason people have poor results with gasless welding. For flux core wire, make sure the electrode is connected to the negative terminal (known as DCEN or direct-current, electrode-negative). For regular gas-shielded MIG welding the electrode is connected to the positive terminal. Most MIG welders will have a short lead on the front panel which is used for selecting the polarity of the electrode (welding handpiece). The earth lead will occupy the positive socket.

Here we can see the results of welding with the incorrect polarity (left) and correct DCEN welding (right). No other settings have been changed, and the weld beads have been cleaned with a wire brush. The thin, ropey bead on the left has produced copious quantities of spatter and has little penetration. The DCEN bead on the right has far more heat concentrated into the work and no spatter is evident.

Flux core wire is more susceptible to squashing than solid MIG wire and can be damaged by excessive feed roller pressure. Solid MIG wire is driven by rollers with a vee-shaped groove (right). To reduce the drive roller pressure, special knurled rollers are used with flux core wire for extra grip (left). However, it is possible to use vee rollers with some care.

5

4

Tension

Select the correct size groove for the size of wire used. Back the tension off then retighten gradually. The wire should run freely from the handpiece without slipping but should be able to slip if it encounters the work surface (do this by holding the handpiece against a block of wood at 45 degrees and pressing the trigger).

32

Feed roller selection

Farming Ahead March 2022 No. 362

If the wire is struggling to feed correctly, check the spool brake. This is usually nothing more complicated than a nut and a spring designed to stop heavy coils over-running and tangling. Sometimes the brake nut can be loosened to reduce the load on the wire feed and reduce any slipping at the rollers. When feeding wire through for the first time, hold the conduit as straight as possible and remove the contact tip so the wire passes though the handpiece without binding. www.farmingahead.com.au

Table 2. Suggested settings for gasless welding Wire diameter (mm)

Voltage range (volts)

Approximate wire feed speed (m/min)

Electrode stick out (mm)

Current range (amps)

0.8

14 – 16

6

10 – 12

60 – 120

0.9

15 – 17

5

12 – 15

80 – 150

1.2

16 – 18

4.5

15 – 20

130 – 180

7

6

Wire size

Common wire diameters are 0.8, 0.9 and 1.2mm, and contact tips should be sized to match (left). While there may not seem to be a significant difference between 0.8 and 0.9mm sizes, in practice they weld quite differently. The 0.8mm wire is able to be operated at a lower voltage and can be used on thinner steel than the 0.9mm wire. Contact tips tend to wear out quicker with flux core wire, so periodic replacement is a must.

It also pays to keep a few spare tips on hand as there is a greater tendency to burn the wire back and fuse to the tip with gasless wire welding. Try to use long contact tips if available (right).

As there is no shielding gas supply, there is no need to have the metal gas shroud attached to the nozzle. In fact, visibility is improved without it. Wire stickout is also typically longer than with gas MIG welding; around 12mm (see Table 2).

9

8

Handy tools

As with stick welding you will need to deal with the slag. While a chipping hammer (left) is useful, the slag is often harder to remove. While you can use a hand-held wire brush, a twisted cup wire brush in a grinder is much more effective for cleaning up welds, especially if you need to make additional weld runs.

Anti-spatter spray is your best friend when using gasless wire. While weld appearance is probably less of an issue when welding out in the paddock or in the stockyards, any work on bare steel surfaces may suffer from spatter adhesion which is unsightly and rough. A quick coating of antispatter spray will make a huge difference. It is water-based and non-flammable.

GASLESS WELDING BASICS

1

Travel direction

Travel direction is important with gasless MIG welding. Whereas solid wire MIG welding uses a pushing direction, gasless welding should be performed by pulling the nozzle, in the same direction as stick welding. This can be a little challenging to adapt to if you are used to pushing the MIG handpiece, but very easy to master if you are used to stick welding. The reason is there is less chance of trapping slag inclusions in the weld. An easy way to remember is “if there’s slag you drag”. www.farmingahead.com.au

2

Welding positions

Flux core welding can generally be used in all positions, including vertically down.

However, check with manufacturer product specifications, as sometimes only vertical up welding is specified. Any wire which produces a large amount of slag will have issues welding in the vertical down direction due to slag inclusions.

No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

33

FROM THE WORKSHOP GASLESS MIG WELDING

3

Getting started

The best advice when tuning a MIG welder for gasless welding is to practice on a piece of scrap which is identical to the work at hand. This means similar thickness, same welding position and surface condition (for example rusty, clean, galvanised).

It can be difficult to ‘dial-in’ MIG welder settings as there are three main variables to contend with: wire speed, voltage, and travel speed. The key is to only adjust one variable at a time.

4

Wire speed setting

Correct wire speed is a good place to start, and wire manufacturer recommendations (similar to Table 2) are a great place to start. If your job is on the thinner side, select voltage and wire speed settings on the lower end of the recommended range.

1

6

Voltage setting

Unlike stick welders which are regulated via current, MIG welders are controlled by voltage.

Older MIG welders had discreet ‘stepped’ voltage controls (for example ‘coarse’ and ‘fine’ knobs, whereas modern inverter units generally have infinite voltage adjustment via a single rotary knob or digital control. While adjusting voltage depends largely on the weld penetration required, it does take a little feel for the machine and the job at hand. Too high a voltage risks burn-though or warpage of the work from too much heat.

Too little voltage will produce a ropey, poorly penetrated bead. With some luck, manufacturer recommendations will give you a reasonable starting point to fine tune from.

5

2

3

4

7

Practice

As with wire speed, practice on scrap to get it right. Flux-core welding is a hot welding process due to the negative electrode polarity. This concentrates heat into the work, making the process less suitable for thinner metal than solid wire MIG welding. As a rule of thumb, you will need a lower voltage with gasless than regular MIG to do a comparable weld. But it is also best to err on the hot side with gasless welding. A large, hot weld pool will ensure slag is as far away from the front edge of the weld pool where it can become included as the weld cools. Here we have laid five short beads with voltage increasing from left to right, with bead four about spot on.

In a perfect world all galvanising would be removed with the grinder before welding, but this is often not easy, especially if there are time constraints. Any enthusiastic removal of galvanised coatings also leads to greater risk of corrosion near the weld. Anyone who has welded poorly-prepared galvanised metal with solid MIG wire will appreciate how poor the job ends up, with the weld full or porosity and spatter everywhere. Flux core wire is far more forgiving of galvanised coatings, rust, mill scale, paint and other surface impurities, and is the process to go to if you are going to skimp on the preparation. Thin galvanised coatings present no problem for gasless wire. The welds above show regular MIG welding (left) and gasless welding (right) on unprepared steel with a thick galvanised coating. While we would always grind the galvo off a piece of steel like this, it does demonstrate how well the flux core wire deals with the coating compared to the regular MIG weld.

34

Farming Ahead March 2022 No. 362

1

5

9

Welding galvanised metal

A wire speed set too low will result in a flaring sounding, intermittent, spitting arc, and sometimes wire burnt back to the tip (left). In addition, the weld will be ropey and poorly penetrated as welding voltage drops automatically. An excessive wire speed can be felt in the handpiece as the wire will tend to push it away from the work. The weld bead will be overly rounded and there may be spatter formed (right). The correct wire speed will produce a flatter, tidier bead, and the arc should have a crackling sound like frying bacon (centre).

2

3

4

8

Travel speed

Travel speed is a little like wire feed speed but in reverse. An overly fast travel speed leaves a stringy, poorly penetrated bead similar to an overly slow wire feed. Too slow a travel speed will produce a fat, overly rounded bead. Penetration can actually be reduced with a slow travel speed as the welding wire tends to arc to the top of the bead and not into the work. With wire feed and voltage dialled in to where they should be, it should be relatively easy to achieve the right travel speed. Here we have laid four beads with reducing travel speed from left to right. Bead three is clearly where the travel speed should be at.

10 Fumes

Of course there is no escaping the fact that welding unprepared galvanised surfaces releases fumes harmful to your health. Even on bare metal surfaces, the fumes released by flux core wire are far more harmful than regular MIG welding.

For this reason, fume extraction or breathing protection should be used when welding gasless in confined spaces or inside. The risks are far lower outdoors where the fumes can dissipate readily. www.farmingahead.com.au

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Established 1930

LIVESTOCK SHEEP Value: A recent webinar provided valuable insights into the nutritional value of pasture and grazing crops. Photo: Mark Saunders.

Investigating feed nutrition to improve sheep health The low rainfall Mallee of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia covers an area of approximately seven million hectares and is an important livestock and wool growing area of Australia. Farmers in the region have identified that improving their understanding of the nutritive value of pastures in their environment would allow them to better manage their livestock and farm resources, which sparked an Australian Wool Innovation (AWI)-funded project. By Macey Hill

H

amish Dickson from AgriPartner Consulting joined Tanja Morgan on a Mallee Sustainable Farming (MSF) Farm Talk Podcast, to share the results from the AWI Feed Nutrition project which involved sampling 11 pasture and crop types in different seasons to better understand the nutritional quality and mineral content of paddock feed in low rainfall environments.

ABOUT THE TRIAL Various pasture and crop species were selected for sampling which are relevant to the Mallee region. Six of the most relevant and common pasture or grazing crop species were selected to be sampled each year as core sample species. The species included: • Barley • Lucerne • Peas • Veldt • Vetch • Regenerating natural pasture (medic base)

36

Farming Ahead March 2022 No. 362

A further five species were selected to be sampled twice per year representing a strategic analysis of species that are less commonly used or could be utilised in a failed crop season. The five strategic species included: • Canola • Lentils • Oats • Serradella • Studenica vetch The trial began in the winter of 2020, with successive samples collected in spring and summer to finish the growing season.

In 2021 the growing season samples were collected in autumn and continued until summer as the end of the growing season.

Samples were collected by cutting plant material from each sample location using shears. The harvested material was immediately dried in a laboratory oven and then sent to a Feedtest laboratory in Werribee, Victoria, for nutritive value and mineral content analysis.

RESULTS Dickson said the laboratory analyses of the pasture and crop samples showed the

nutritive value across the season declined as the plants matured and became senescent.

Dickson added that energy and protein content also declined from fresh winter growth to senescent dry summer feed.

“The metabolizable energy content of the samples generally showed the same trend of declining from winter to summer across each individual species, however the level of decline varied between species,” Dickson said.

“The highest energy content species in winter included canola, vetch, barley and oats. The lowest energy content species included veldt grass and natural regenerating pasture.

“Peas showed an increase in energy content from winter to spring and then declined significantly to summer as dry feed.

Dickson stated that the crude protein content of different species again followed the trend of declining from winter to summer. In general, grass type species such as barley, oats, veldt showed lower protein content across all samples compared to the legume species of lucerne, peas, vetch. www.farmingahead.com.au

Canola had the highest protein content of 30.3 per cent in winter, while the barley summer sample had declined to less than one per cent to result in the lowest protein content of all species. Winter protein content of Studenica vetch was approximately five per cent lower than core vetch sample.

All feed samples were also analysed for mineral content of calcium, magnesium, sulphur, cobalt, selenium and copper which are typically of most interest to sheep producers.

Calcium content of all pastures were generally satisfactory in those samples as they reached the minimum required amount for sheep of 2000mg/kg DM. In general, the cereals and grass pastures were lower in calcium content than legume species.

Sulphur content of pasture during winter was within normal range for sheep (1400 – 2600mg/kgDM), with all samples above the minimum level, however canola sulphur content exceeded the normal range to reach a maximum of 6100mg/kg DM. Samples collected in spring and summer showed a significant number of deficiencies with over three quarters of samples (76.5 per cent) of samples deficient in sulphur.

Cobalt content of pastures was highly variable, however mostly adequate for sheep, with only 14.3 per cent of samples below the minimum required level of 0.1mg/kg DM. Cobalt content of pasture typically increased as pastures matured from early winter growth to dry senescent summer feed.

Copper content of the species tested showed that most pastures were adequate for copper content as assessed by the minimum required level of 5mg/kg DM. Spring samples for barley, oats, lucerne and peas showed a deficiency.

Selenium content of the pasture was adequate in all samples except two being winter oats and winter canola, where the content was below the minimum required level of 0.1mg/kg DM.

“Whilst most species declined significantly in quality from winter and spring to summer, lucerne was the standout species that from spring to summer it maintained energy content and only marginally reduced protein content from 20.5 per cent to 17.5 per cent.

“Canola was another standout species for winter feed quality and highlights an opportunity for tactical grazing of this species when seasonal conditions permit. This may be in a good season where grazing can be expected to have little effect on grain yield, or in low rainfall year canola may present a grazing opportunity to extract value from a failed crop,” Dickson said.

Dickson added that seasonal conditions in 2020 assisted slightly in this result as spring rainfall was average to above average for the regions where samples were collected.

IMPLICATIONS FOR COMMERCIAL PRACTICE Dickson said the mineral analyses showed several interesting findings that can impact sustainability on farm management in the Mallee.

“Results have shown that minerals such as calcium were largely adequate, particularly in non-cereal species.

The oat and barley samples showed some deficiencies and particularly if considering interactions from minerals such as potassium and sodium and magnesium, calcium supplementation for high demand animals such as pregnant or lactating ewes and young growing stock

could still be considered important,” Dickson said.

“Many animal health products such as drenches and vaccines have additional selenium or vitamin b12 added to provide a supplement to stock. Cobalt is synthesised into vitamin b12 in the rumen and therefor if adequate levels of cobalt are available then adequate levels of vitamin b12 will be produced for the animal. Results from these analyses have shown that the majority of samples in the Mallee were adequate for both selenium and cobalt, representing a possible significant saving in operational costs for producers using large quantities of these supplements.

“In addition, excess supplementation of selenium in particular can produce toxicity effects, and this has been observed previously in the Mallee where stock have been supplemented with selenium through a combination of drench, vaccine and loose lick products all containing selenium which created an animal toxicity as the feed base was already adequate for selenium levels,” Dickson said.

Dickson stated that the samples have assisted in identifying the nutritive value and mineral content of a range of Mallee pastures and crops. The samples will be used in combination with the second year of sample collection to create a full dataset of the nutritional value of Mallee feeds for producers and industry to utilise as a standalone resource or included in packages such as Lifetime Ewe Management.

DISCUSSION Dickson said the results demonstrated the value of feed testing pastures and crops intended for grazing as some findings are outside of the expected results as excessively low summer protein content of cereals or some mineral analyses.

“However, there are also some findings that have followed expected trends such as the general seasonal change in quality from winter (Early growth) to summer (Dry senescent feed). There is significant decline in nutritive value in plants as they progress past the reproductive stage (flowering),” he said. www.farmingahead.com.au

No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

37

LIVESTOCK SHEEP

Careful attention required for successful autumn period

S

peaking on a recent SheepConnect NSW webinar, Forbes-based Rogers – who is the principal director at SheepSMART Solutions – said it had been a wetter summer than most for the majority of New South Wales, yet producers right across the state should be taking the opportunity to prepare for the upcoming season.

“Generally speaking, there’s a large volume of biomass around, and in cooler wetter areas, feed is seasonally mature but staying green, and winter grasses haven’t germinated yet,” Rogers said.

“Depending on what pasture species you’ve got, the seasonally mature story isn’t always a good story, particularly when you have animals which have got specific metabolic needs. When looking at pastures, you have to look at what is contributing to the productivity of your livestock.

“Now is the time to be thinking about the quality of the bulk. If you’re joining

38

Farming Ahead March 2022 No. 362

or lambing, you cannot afford to get either of them wrong.”

JOINING For producers joining in autumn, Rogers said the time was right to set up for high conception rates, focusing on condition scores, nutritional requirements, and ram pre-joining checks.

“There is basically a linear relationship between ewe condition scores at joining, and number of lambs born per 100 ewes,” she said.

Rogers said ewes had to be on a level or increasing plane of nutrition at joining, and should be ‘fit not fat.’

“The recommended condition score of Merino ewes is 3, and once you get above that, you’re in risky territory of overfat ewes, and there is a lack of economics around running ewes that fat,” she said.

“The better the condition score, the lower the percentage of dry ewes, and the higher proportion of twins.

“Low dry ewe percentage is very achievable, and with good management and selection, it should be below 10 per cent.”

Rogers recommended rams be at a condition score of 3.5 at joining and urged producers “not to skimp” on ram numbers.

“Ram numbers depend a bit on mob size, but at this time of year, 1.5 per cent (of the ewe flock) plus one is generally a good number,” she said.

“With younger ewes, I’d be starting at two per cent to give them as much contact as possible with the rams, whereas it’s a bit easier with the older ewes who will actively look for the rams.”

Pre-joining checks on rams should also be starting now, giving producers a big enough window to fix any possible problems.

“Spermatogenesis (sperm production) takes six weeks, so if you do a check 12 weeks prior to joining, if there are any www.farmingahead.com.au

Image: iStock.com/mastersky

Whether producers are set for joining in autumn or are getting ready to lamb down, SheepConnect NSW project manager Megan Rogers says now is the time to conduct checks on livestock and feed availability leading into a critical period on the sheep calendar. By Claire Harris

animals with infections, or you have to do any animal husbandry operations, there is adequate time to recover for stock to be in tip top condition for joining,” she said.

Rogers also recommended any supplementary feeding regimes to begin now, to avoid potential acidosis problems.

“If all these checks are completed now you should be capable of having 75pc of ewes joined on the first cycle, so in a fiveweek joining period you should be well on the way to some good percentages.”

LAMBING Condition scoring and subsequent planning leading up to lambing sets producers up for good lambing birthweights according to Rogers, with a score of 3 for single-bearing ewes and 3.5 for twin-bearing ewes, suitable targets.

“If you’re coming into lambing, keep an eye on condition scores, and a condition score at scanning time allows for good management decisions to be made,” she said.

“You don’t want to put them on a Jenny Craig regime too close to lambing because that could put them under metabolic stress, but at the same time, you

don’t want to overcook them and finish off with Shetland pony size lambs.”

Rogers said for a 60kg dry ewe, daily energy requirements were 9.5MJ/day, but approaching lambing that number hiked to 13MJ for ewes with singles on-board, and 18MJ for those with twins.

Appropriate condition scores for twin-bearing ewes are of particular importance, allow lambing percentages to jump “from good to great.”

“If the twin-bearing ewes are in good condition, they will have a good amount of milk, more ideal birthweights, and birthweight drives lamb survival irrespective of weather,” she said.

Pre-lambing drenches to reduce worm numbers is also key to ensure productivity of breeding ewes isn’t compromised, particularly in a season like this when cool moist conditions lend themselves to worm and flystrike problems.

“A pre-lambing drench is a good idea, because as ewes approach lambing, the immune system focuses on other things and therefore their natural and inherent robustness to worms in paddocks starts to wane and you can get an increase in worms on board. That’s going to dirty up

your paddocks,” Rogers said. “You don’t want the (worm) problem to escalate to the point that you have the drench gun out at marking in the event of heavy worm burdens in paddocks.”

For those looking to trail-feed during lambing, Rogers recommended afternoons as the best time.

“The frequency of trail-feeding will depend a bit on mob size, paddock feed and how many singles or twins there are, but afternoons are the most convenient time for breeding ewes in terms of lack of disturbance.

“A lot of lambs seem to be born early morning, so an afternoon trail-feed gives the ewe and lamb maximum time at the birth site before they come to the trail.”

More information: • www.sheepconnectnsw.com.au/tools • sheepsmart-solutions.squarespace.com Contact: Megan Rogers, SheepConnect NSW project manager and SheepSMART Solutions principal director megan@sheepconnectnsw.com.au 0427 459 891

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Stay focused: SheepConnect NSW project manager and SheepSMART Solutions principal director Megan Rogers said sheep producers should be keeping a close eye on condition scores and feed availability leading up to joining or lambing in the coming months. www.farmingahead.com.au

110 Tudhoe St, Wagin, WA 6315 PO Box 89, Wagin, WA 6315 P: (08) 9861 1290 E: info@tallytags.com.au

www.tallytags.com.au No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

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LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION Keep contained: Stock Containment Areas are useful for feeding livestock for a discreet time, protecting soil, water and pasture in paddocks.

Photo: Pamela Lawson

Stock Containment Areas help preserve resources During November 2021, Agriculture Victoria officers Chris Blore, Clem Sturmfels and Nick Linden presented a series of webinars looking at the role of a Stock Containment Area (SCA) on grazing properties.

The presenters explained how an SCA can be a useful tool for protecting soil, water and pasture resources by containing stock for a limited period, as Pamela Lawson discovers.

C

hris Blore began the first of the Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA)-supported webinars by defining an SCA as an area to confine, feed and water livestock to maintain their body condition after a natural disaster or during adverse seasonal conditions. They can also be used to ensure certain classes of livestock reach target weights for joining or turnoff for example, but feeding is only ever for a relatively short, discreet amount of time. Be aware even a short period of containment feeding may rule livestock out of some marketing programs, especially if grain or grain-based products are fed.

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SCAs differ from feedlots in that they do not permanently contain livestock being fed intensively for production. They are only used when necessary to preserve resources on a property that can generally sustain regular grazing throughout the year. Livestock are not purchased offfarm to go into an SCA, and stocking rate densities are usually not as high as they are in feedlots.

APPROVAL AND PERMITS Chris suggested planning and building an SCA to comply with the Cattle Feedlot Environmental Code of Practice, if feasible, to ensure all regulations are complied with and allow for future

expansion or more intensive use if desired.

Victorian producers can also consult the ‘Navigating Farm Developments’ website at www.developments.agriculture.vic.gov.au to see what the restrictions and requirements are when building an SCA on farm.

Other state departments of Agriculture may have similar information. The ability to manage effluent usually dictates the number of head of livestock that can be held in an SCA and if an Environmental Protection Authority permit is required.

It is also essential to consult local council prior to constructing an SCA as a permit may also be required depending on the proximity of the SCA to houses and waterways for example. www.farmingahead.com.au

WHY AND HOW It is important to take the time to make an SCA plan before beginning construction.

This will ensure the SCA is a worthwhile, cost effective and necessary part of your livestock operation and will determine how it will be built and used efficiently.

In the second webinar of the series, Clem Sturmfels outlined the main things to consider when planning to create a SCA. These include: 1. Cost – this can be significant and exceed $6000 per pen for construction and infrastructure alone, before ongoing feed and labour costs are included.

2. Time – livestock in an SCA is a 7-daya-week commitment which could continue for up to six months.

3. Management – the operator will need to have a good understanding of livestock nutritional requirements, health management and disease prevention.

4. Contingency plan – what options are available for alternate labour and management if needed?

5. Logistics – is there a suitable and viable location, water supply, feeding system and labour for an SCA?

SITE SELECTION Clem then went on to explain the importance of site selection for a SCA, although there will usually be some compromise between points on the ‘wish list’. Ideally, an SCA will be located close to stock handling facilities, so sick animals or shy feeders can be easily drafted off.

There should be good, all-weather access for vehicles and feeding equipment and the pens sited on stable, well-drained soil. Site an SCA downwind of any dwellings and make use of existing shade and shelter such as treelines. Keep SCAs well away (at least 100 metres) from neighbours, waterways and dams and ideally not near public roads to reduce the risk of theft and negative public perception.

water troughs and shade. The pen layout should allow easy vehicle and machinery access, with gateways enabling safe livestock handling for both animals and humans. Try to ensure one pen does not drain into the next.

It can be useful to have a spare pen adjacent to the others if using self-feeders in the pens, so the feeders can be refilled in the empty pen before the stock are moved in there, leaving the next pen empty for the feeder to be refilled. Always use high quality fencing materials for the pens as there can be high pressure placed on the fencing by livestock.

IN-PEN INFRASTRUCTURE It is critical to have a reliable supply of clean, cool water in each SCA pen as poor water quality has been shown repeatedly to adversely affect livestock performance.

The water should taste and smell fresh, be less than 25°C and contain salt levels less than 6000 EC or 3600ppm. A gravity reticulation system is preferable, with the ability to hold a four-day supply (about 25000L) per pen in reserve. The flow rate required to simultaneously water 170 cattle is about 67L/minute and 21L/min for 500 sheep.

Water troughs in an SCA should be durable, with all fittings and valves protected from stock. To water 170 head of cattle, a trough edge of 8 – 10 metres is recommended. Troughs should ideally be positioned on a raised pad of concrete, crushed rock or plastic tiles and must be easy to clean out every few days without causing excessive pugging in the pen.

The feeding system used in SCAs will largely depend on the existing infrastructure, yard layout, available labour and forage being fed. Clem expressed a preference for raised troughs made out of materials such as shade cloth or conveyor belting, that are easily cleaned and drain well if rained on. Feed troughs need to be long to avoid shy feeders missing out, allowing 15 – 20 centimetres per head for sheep for double-sided troughs and 40 – 60cm/ head for cattle. Self-feeders and lick feeders also work well although it can be hard to regulate how much each animal is eating and it can be difficult to replenish the feeder if a spare pen and feeder is not available to move stock into after filling. Remember that healthy, mature, dry stock being fed for maintenance do not need feeding every day.

Shade and shelter are needed in SCAs as a matter of animal welfare and performance. Heat stress can cause lower conception rates and foetal losses in breeding stock and reduced performance in dry stock in SCAs with no shade. If there are existing trees, protect their trunks from stock to avoid ringbarking. Trees may still struggle in SCAs due to compaction around them and nutrient overload, although some exotic species may be able to cope better.

Other materials Clem has seen used to successfully provide shade and shelter in SCAs include large square haybales stacked just outside the pen along one edge and shade cloth constructions.

DESIGN AND LAYOUT When deciding on pen size and shape, Clem suggested working on a stocking density of about 5m2/head for sheep and 15m2/head for cattle. This means a 50m-by-50m pen can house about 500 sheep or 170 cattle comfortably. Trials have shown that increasing stock densities to 3m2/head for sheep for example results in a larger variation in animal performance due to a higher number of shy feeders.

Pen shape will largely be determined by how you plan to feed (along a laneway for example or using self-feeders) and the location of existing infrastructure such as www.farmingahead.com.au

Make a plan: Ensure you have adequate resources and labour to construct, fit out and maintain an SCA before you start building and stocking one. Photo: Agriculture Victoria No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

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LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION Shade and water: In any SCA it is essential to provide shade and shelter for livestock and have a good supply of fresh water with a suitable flow rate into troughs. Photo: Agriculture Victoria

It can also be worthwhile providing some items to entertain livestock in SCAs. These could include large haybales (used by sheep for climbing) or stacks of old tyres or logs for cattle to rub on.

While there has been no real difference in performance seen between animals with or without entertainment items in their pens, such items can divert animal attention away from damaging trough fittings or playing with gate latches!

NUTRITIONAL NEEDS In the third webinar of the series, Nick Linden spoke in depth about the nutritional requirements for different classes of livestock in SCAs. He began by stressing the importance of not compromising future performance in breeding animals by underfeeding them whilst they are in an SCA. An animal’s growth rate will never recover from a feed restriction pre-weaning, including when the animal is still in utero. It can also lower conception rates when breeding animals are joined in the future.

Nick then explained that whilst animals are in an SCA, they need all their nutritional needs to be provided in the forage they are given, including energy, protein, fibre and vitamins and minerals. Different classes of livestock have different nutritional requirements,

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depending on their age, pregnancy and lactation status and target growth rate.

The nutritional requirements of different classes of cattle are summarised in the Agriculture Victoria Drought book.

ENERGY, PROTEIN AND FIBRE The energy contained in feedstuffs is reported as megajoules of metabolisable energy per kilogram of dry matter, or MJME/kg DM. It is essential to get feed tested in a laboratory (such as Feedtest) to give an accurate indication of the amount of energy in it before creating a feed ration for stock in SCAs. Whilst different classes of livestock have differing energy needs, Nick gave a rule of thumb for cattle for maintenance energy requirements as: MJME/day = (0.1 x liveweight) + 5 Protein is required by animals for almost all bodily functions and is measured in feedstuffs as Crude Protein (CP) as a percentage of Dry Matter or CP%.

Like energy, the protein requirements of livestock vary with animal age, growth rate, pregnancy and lactation status.

Grain and grain-based pellets have medium-high protein levels and can be a cost-effective feed in SCAs. Hay, silage and straw are generally low in protein, with the exception of lucerne hay. Lickblocks containing urea can help animals

utilise low protein feed as the urea feeds their rumen bugs, enabling the animal to eat more. But the low-protein feed must be abundantly available, which is unlikely if animals are being fed for maintenance in an SCA. The amount of fibre in a feedstuff is reported as Neutral Detergent Fibre as a percentage of Dry Matter or NDF%.

Fibre indicates the feed’s bulk and therefore how much of a feed an animal can physically ingest. If there is too little fibre in a ration, an animal is at risk of acidosis. Ruminants typically require 30 per cent NDF in their diet which equates to about 10 per cent fibre in a ration for stock in an SCA. But it can be difficult to tell how much fibre an animal is eating compared to low-fibre feeds such as wheat if they are being offered separately. As fibre is needed to maintain rumen function, the best way to ensure animals are getting enough fibre is to monitor their dung (it should be solid and not scoury) and note if they are chewing their cud regularly.

Various vitamins and minerals may also need to be added to the ration for stock in SCAs. Salt added at one per cent of the ration and limestone at two per cent help to balance nutrient ratios, buffer against acidosis and keep animals drinking adequate amounts of water. www.farmingahead.com.au

CALCULATIONS AND CONVERSIONS There are many different calculators available to help producers determine an appropriate, cost-effective ration for livestock in an SCA. These are best found by searching for ‘drought feed calculators’ on the internet. It is also vital to work out the cost of a ration, again using one of the many feed cost calculators available, before feed is ordered and feeding begins.

Cost feeds on an energy basis (cents per megajoule) so different feedstuffs can be compared.

When looking at the energy, protein and fibre levels in a feedstuff as reported from a feed test, remember that these must be converted from kilogram or percentage DM to the actual amount of the feedstuff required by weight.

For example, if a ration requires 4.5kg DM wheat to meet energy needs of the livestock being fed and the wheat is 90 per cent DM, you actually need to feed 4.5/0.9 = 5kg wheat in the ration.

INTRODUCTION AND HEALTH When starting livestock on feed in an SCA, Nick explained that it was vital to introduce new feed slowly to animals coming off pasture. Ideally imprint young animals pre-weaning so they have

had some early exposure to the type of feed they will be fed in the SCA at a later stage.

Once they are in an SCA, keep an eye out for shy feeders (draft them off if necessary), have palatable hay freely available and step up the quantities of any ration being fed in small increments.

Cattle can start on 0.5kg/head of a ration mix, increasing the amount by 0.5kg/head every second day.

Once the target intake is reached, feed only every second or third day. See the Agriculture Victoria Drought book for more information about introducing ration feed to livestock.

The main health risk for livestock in an SCA is acidosis, which occurs when animals consume too much carbohydrate in the diet too quicky. This can occur if livestock are introduced to grain feed too quickly, if new livestock are suddenly added to a pen, if animals are overfed, if there is insufficient fibre available to animals or if the ration is suddenly changed in composition, from oats to barley for example.

Other potential health problems include vitamin A, D and E deficiencies if animals have not had access to green feed for a considerable length of time, pulpy kidney, worms, pneumonia, pinkeye and scouring

caused by salmonella or coccidiosis in wet conditions. It is therefore advisable to only put healthy, vaccinated animals into an SCA and to monitor livestock for health issues daily so they can be addressed as soon as possible.

AVAILABLE RESOURCES Resources suggested by presented in the webinar series included: • Feeding calculators and tables are available at: www.feedinglivestock.vic.gov.au • Agriculture Victoria Beef Cattle Drought Feeding book: https://bit.ly/3sivV36 • SCA eLearn course: https://bit.ly/35kFgyJ • Contact webinar presenters: Nick Linden (nick.linden@agriculture.vic.gov.au or 0438 369 486), Chris Blore (christopher. blore@agriculture.vic.gov.au or 0428 155 781) and Clem Sturmfels (clem.sturmfels@agriculture.vic.gov.au or 0429 018 879) Other state departments of Agriculture may also have drought and containment feeding information.

More information: These webinars can be viewed in full at: https://bit.ly/3vh0eJe

Adequate fibre: To ensure livestock in an SCA have adequate fibre in their diet, monitor their dung and see if cattle are chewing their cud regularly. Photo: Agriculture Victoria www.farmingahead.com.au

No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

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PASTURES AND SOILS STUBBLES Stubble know how: CSIRO researchers Andrew Toovey and Dean Thomas have looked into the nutritive value of different components of stubbles, as well as feed value of different stubble types.

Nutritive value of stubbles examined With feed availability in paddocks starting to wind down in some regions as the summer-autumn feed gap approaches, knowing the nutritive value of stubbles is paramount, but a complex task. By Claire Harris

S

peaking on a Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) webinar last month, Perth-based CSIRO livestock systems scientist Dean Thomas shared results from a recentlycompleted MLA and Australian Wool Innovation (AWI)-funded two-year project which worked to quantify the value of modern crop stubbles.

“Quantifying the feed base in grazing systems remains a challenge for us, and stubbles are no different,” Dr Thomas said.

“It’s difficult putting numbers around how much feed is available and what sort of performance you’re going to get from stubbles.”

Nationwide, Dr Thomas said 21-million hectares of winter crops were planted in 2021, of which about 30 per cent (6.5 – 7m ha) were grazed.

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Further, a survey of 41 farmers as part of the study revealed sheep spend roughly 25 per cent of time on stubbles, second only to dry pastures (31 per cent) and equal to green pastures (also 25 per cent). “(Stubbles are) an important part of the feed base, and this project was about getting at that and understanding that feed availability a bit more.”

CHAFF MANAGEMENT The project involved farmer surveys, feed surveys, animal house studies, lab analyses and grazing experiments, with one of the initial experiments looking at chaff management practices, and examination of chaff composition of different crop types.

Of the survey respondents, about half of them distributed chaff out the harvester, while aggregation of chaff into

heaps and windrows was also popular.

Less prevalent practices included the use of a seed destructor, or baling chaff straight out the back of the harvester.

Examining the nutritive value of chaff in each of these management practices took the form of 300 chaff samples – a mixture of wheat, barley, canola, lupins and chickpeas – being separated into different components including grains, main stem, finer stem/leaf, and finer material, and put through the lab to determine their nutritive values.

“The main stem is of lower quality than finer components, and in chaff heaps and lines it made up a pretty small proportion (10 – 15 per cent), while on the interrow or a stubble that has had chaff spread, the main stem made up to 50pc of the composition,” Dr Thomas said. www.farmingahead.com.au

“In regions which are more softfinishing, stubble quality of main stems and leaf material would be lower, but the results we obtained came from a wide range of high to low rainfall areas to cover this.”

Comparing across crop types, barley chaff contained seven times the amount of spilled grain (52.4kg/ha unharvested grain assuming 2t/ha grain yield and 35 per cent crop biomass is harvested chaff) than wheat chaff (6kg/ha), and other components of barley chaff were also of higher feeding value.

The main stem material in barley chaff was about 1MJ/kg DM higher than other crops, sitting at about 5MJ/kg DM, but almost all chaff components across all crop types remained below the 7.5MJ/ kg DM benchmark daily nutritional requirement for liveweight maintenance of a dry ewe.

“Chaff feed value is low across the board,” Dr Thomas said.

Lupin fine material and finer stem/ leaf material is heading up towards that benchmark, sitting at about 7MJ/kg DM, but components in other crops are well below.”

SELECTIVE GRAZING BEHAVIOUR Having uncovered knowledge of chaff feed value in different components and crop types, the project then looked at the selective grazing behaviour of mature and young ewes, by providing them with 1.5kg chaff per day, with chaff being from nine different sources and offered with and without lupins. Diet selection and intake quantities were measured.

“As expected, the sheep weren’t keen on eating low-quality chaff, but they were able to consume a reasonable amount of chaff across all the different sources.

There was some variability in chaff source effects but nothing that was all that significant,” Dr Thomas said.

Selectivity depended on chaff type, ewe age, and lupins, with those offered lupins more selective. Overall, energy availability of the consumed feed averaged a feed value of 6.2MJ ME/kg, compared to 5.8MJ ME/kg for the chaff left uneaten.

Dr Thomas said chaff intake among young and mature ewes was very similar, but on a per bodyweight basis, younger ewes had a 36 per cent higher chaff intake than their 10 – 15kg heavier mature counterparts – equivalent to chaff intake meeting one half of maintenance requirements for young ewes and one third for mature ewes.

The selective nature of nutritional intake was further investigated in a sixweek trial, with sheep grazing on wheat stubbles, repeated in four paddock sites across WA. “About 50 per cent of energy intake come from unharvested grain, while the other 50pc came from higher quality leaf components and stem components in stubbles. 10pc of stubble material was eaten, leaving 90pc behind,” Dr Thomas said.

“While the material as a whole did not majorly deplete overtime, the grain certainly did. Between 100 – 250kg/ha unharvested grain was available in the paddocks at the start of the trial, but overtime that reduced to below 50kg/ha, in all four paddocks.”

“On stubbles, sheep will initially gain weight rapidly as they seek out the highquality available feed, then they will get to a point where they are maintaining weight and if left there for longer, will lose weight they originally put on as they are left only with low quality material.”

Dr Thomas said on a wheat stubble in the absence of supplementary feeding, the were about 116 DSE grazing days/ha from stubbles to maintenance, equivalent to 1400 MJ ME/ha.

“While improved machinery has increased harvest values, there is evidence of a negative impact in the nutritional value of what’s available for livestock to graze,” he said.

“For instance, there has been a broad reduction in protein content of chaff, which now needs to be taken into account when managing diets and livestock performance.”

TOOL DEVELOPED In order to quantify the nutritive value of wheat stubbles more accurately, a Grazing Stubble Calculator has been developed, and is readily available on the MLA website.

The calculator requires producers to input factors such as crop stubble type, ewe condition score, ewe weights and weight gain targets, mob size, paddock size, and any supplementary feeding methods being used.

The provided output details estimated energy intake from the stubble, and number of grazing days until the mob returns to initial liveweight.

“Unharvested grain availability and target groundcovers are not yet incorporated into the calculator, so it’s recommended with stubbles to measure how much grain in paddock, to guide decision making on how much feed is available,” Dr Thomas said.

“It would make sense that the more grain there is out there, the more confident you’d be that you could graze if for a bit longer.

“The calculator is an average of a lot of field studies, and an extra way to estimate what might be going on in a scenario, but other management practices are still needed.”

Further testing of the Stubble Grazing Calculator is in the pipeline to ensure the tool is ready for widescale use in the agricultural industry.

More information: • The nutritive value of modern crop stubbles: https://bit.ly/3M4WeSi • MLA Productivity and Profitability webinars: https://bit.ly/35zC1mD Contact: Dean Thomas, CSIRO livestock systems scientist dean.thomas@csiro.au (08) 9333 6671 Joe Gebbells, CSIRO reports@mla.com.com.au

www.farmingahead.com.au

No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

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CROPPING CHICKPEAS In the field: Department of Food and Agriculture WA’s Harmohinder Dhammu and WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s Mark Seymour inspecting a DPIRD/GRDC chickpea herbicide trial at Dalwallinu, WA, in August 2021.

Photo: Stacey Power, DPIRD.

Chickpea success boiled down to a few key tips Cropping programs in Western Australia’s agricultural regions are typically dominated by cereals, but a renewed interest in chickpeas is likely to reap rewards for farmers looking to grow the pulse crop. By Claire Harris

S

peaking on a Grower Group Alliance Grains podcast recently, WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) Esperance-based senior research scientist, Mark Seymour, said there were many benefits of growing chickpeas.

“Chickpeas are usually a high-value crop, are well adapted to a range of soils, stand up well at harvest and give a lot of benefits that a grain legume will, to the following crop,” Dr Seymour said.

Dr Seymour said there were four key rules to growing chickpeas successfully – location, seed cleanliness, fungicide treatment, and spraying regime.

“Some people have missed out one or two of those things and have had a disappointing result, but if you can follow this little recipe, it really is chalk and cheese to reduce the amount of disease you’ll get,” he said.

Dr Seymour said chickpeas grow best on neutral or alkaline loams, with boron and saline soils not a good choice.

“Part of that is because chickpeas are late-maturing, so they’re trying to get water from deeper down and if the soil is boron or salty, the roots struggle to get the water,” he said.

“Chickpeas can go onto neutral acid duplex soil with sandy topsoil, and probably of all the pulses, chickpeas are a better fit from a wind erosion point of view post-harvest.”

REDUCING ASCOCHYTA RISK While soil type is important, Dr Seymour said picking areas which drained well was essential, as was the use of clean seed.

“We have to consider that chickpeas are susceptible to Ascochyta, and you have to www.farmingahead.com.au

plan that you’re going to get it,” he said.

“You can minimise (the risk) by sourcing clean seed. If you’re buying seed off someone you want to ask them for a seed test result, and you want to get basically zero Ascochyta on the seed.

“A germination test is also a good idea, because chickpeas are prone in storage to lower germination more so than most other crops.”

Dr Seymour said a fungicide treatment such as P-Pickel-T would help to reduce Ascochyta and pythiums that attack seedlings, ‘knocking back’ diseases early.

A rhizobia inoculation is also recommended to aid nodulation, and is not expected to be majorly affected by fungicide treatment.

“Not a lot of people grow chickpeas and so there is often no history of rhizobia in the soil, so every chickpea in soil should be liquid inoculated with rhizobia, or have a granular product added right next to seed,” Dr Seymour said.

“You want to minimise the amount of time rhizobia have contact with P-Pickel-T. You can P-Pickel-T seed well in advance, but if you treat seed with rhizobia, you want to sow ideally within six hours and certainly within 24 hours.

“What we’ve found, is in good conditions, if you do it right, you will end up with a similar nodulation to if you hadn’t used the P-Pickel-T. The fungicide knocks them round a little but there are enough rhizobia in treatments that you’re doing to mean the end result is very similar.”

An early spray at about the six-week mark – or earlier in warmer areas – was key to knocking back any Ascochyta and stop the crop from being a source of infection for the rest of the year.

“In some areas, that will be the end of the spray program, but if you’re in a higher rainfall and higher production area, you’ll possibly be looking at canopy closure sprays as well,” Dr Seymour said.

THINK AHEAD FOR WEED CONTROL With chickpeas being slow-growing and largely non-competitive with broadleaf weeds, Dr Seymour said weed control at sowing and prior to emergence is key.

“We don’t have a very effective post-emergent broadleaf weed control package for chickpeas, so it’s important to budget out and make those decisions on herbicide choices before sowing or immediately after sowing,” he said.

“You have to tackle weeds you think you’re going to get, make choices and spend the money because you’re going to be chasing your tail if you haven’t made those choices then.

“Those who try to cut corners at sowing are the ones that have issues later on.”

More information: • Grower Group Alliance Grains podcast: https://bit.ly/35euhqn • Response of chickpea to in-season application of nitrogen: https://bit.ly/3vnlUU8 • Chickpeas Northern Region GrowNotes: https://bit.ly/3phPqGX • DPIRD chickpea articles: https://bit.ly/3vnbyDZ Contact: Dr Mark Seymour, WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development mark.seymour@dpird.wa.gov.au 0428 925 002 No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

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CROPPING EMISSIONS Production reduction: A major report has found reducing overall net emissions of the Australian grains industry by 2030 is unlikely to be achieved without decreasing production. Photo: Mark Saunders

Cropping greenhouse gas baseline established As the agriculture sector as a whole strives to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and a $100 billion industry by 2030, the grains industry has taken a close look at what it would need to do to achieve this. By Nicola Bell

I

n a major new report, the Australian Grains Baseline and Mitigation Assessment, released recently, found reducing overall net emissions of the Australian grains industry by 2030 is unlikely to be achieved without decreasing Australian production.

But it is achievable, just at a cost.

The research was undertaken by the CSIRO and commissioned by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) to establish a detailed and robust greenhouse gas emissions baseline for the Australian grains sector and explore mitigation pathways that maintain or increase production.

The report found that offsetting the full greenhouse gas baseline emissions for grains would mean diverting about 5.5 per cent of the area currently used for grains cultivation, about 1.1 million hectares, to carbon sequestration projects.

The report conclusions stated that greenhouse gas emissions of Australian grains is already low compared to many other exporting countries, but it is important to stay competitive on a global market that increasingly focuses on sustainability credentials. This could be achieved while at the same time increasing production.

“Offsetting of emissions via reforestation seems the most viable

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Farming Ahead March 2022 No. 362

option to reduce absolute emissions. This would come at a cost to the sector, which could be compensated for by increased production,” the report stated.

THE RESEARCH CSIRO senior research scientist and report co-author, Maartje Sevenster, said they focused their assessment of mitigation opportunities on measures that would maintain or improve average production across the sector. “(We) found that it is possible to increase production dramatically while keeping net on-farm emissions more or less constant,” Dr Sevenster said.

“While this is not the same as reducing emissions, it is a very important finding.

The next step is to determine what information and tools farmers need to make those modelled scenarios reality.”

Dr Sevenster said by using a combination of emission reduction strategies, it was possible for the grains industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15 per cent per tonne of grain.

The report also found the most affordable way to produce on-farm offsets was to place tree plantings and soil carbon projects on the livestock portion of mixed farms, because the net value of pasture lands was lower than that of crop lands.

KEY FINDINGS • Emissions arising from Australian grain production in 2005 were 13.75 million tonnes CO2-e or 315 kg of CO2-e per tonne of Australian grain produced.

• About 60 per cent of these emissions are direct farm emissions.

• Approximately 40 per cent are scope three emissions external to the farm gate, which include the emissions produced in the manufacture of the inputs growers use such as fertiliser.

• On-farm emissions from Australian grain accounted for 1.7 per cent of all of Australia’s national emissions reported in 2005 – 06.

• Reducing overall net emissions of the Australian grains industry by 2030 is unlikely to be achieved without decreasing Australian production.

• Any reduction in Australian grain production is likely to result in an increase in grain production in regions of the world that are not able to achieve the low emissions intensity of Australia, increasing global grains emissions.

INDUSTRY REACTION GrainGrowers chair, Brett Hosking, said they welcomed the report as it provided more data for the Australian grains industry and for growers as they consider emissions and make decisions. www.farmingahead.com.au

“This report recognises that our Australian growers are already leading the world in adopting practises that have seen improvement in a really complicated space,” Hosking said.

He said while the report focused on grain production, it was important to consider the whole farm business which will be unique to each grower.

“Like all sectors, emissions reduction brings challenges for our cropping sector.

Solutions require investment in data and technology to ensure our growers have the information and tools they need.”

Grain Producers Australia chair and Western Australian producer, Barry Large, said the report may indicate “we’re in a good position now – but when it comes to action on sustainable production on-farm we also know there’s no room for complacency, to help secure a better future”.

“While we can and always need to do more to reduce emissions, including advancing initiatives such as local manufacturing of green fertilisers, this report does signal to global export markets that if you’re fair dinkum about climate change, and you need high quality

food and feed grains, then Australia’s the place to buy grains from, to get real value,” Large said.

WHERE TO NEXT? The report made a number of recommendations for further research,

development and extension. The recommendations address the following main topics: assessing interventions and interactions that the study was unable to address; improvements to greenhouse gas accounting and modelling practices; localised decision making.

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No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

49

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CROPPING NEW APPOINTMENT

New MD appointed to peak grains body

A

ustralian grains supply chain expert and experienced corporate leader Nigel Hart is the new managing director of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

Hart will start his role on 4 April.

Hart is a high calibre leader with more than 25 years’ experience in senior executive roles with organisations such as global agribusiness corporation Archer Daniels and GrainCorp.

GRDC chairman, John Woods, said a comprehensive search for a new managing director had successfully resulted in the international recognised and well-known agricultural sector identity stepping into the leadership role.

“Strategically GRDC is well positioned to continue to deliver effective and efficient research, development and extension (RD&E) and Nigel’s experience and understanding of the grains sector both within Australian and internationally will add significant value,” Woods said.

“The GRDC Board is confident that Nigel’s management and strategic business skills and extensive agricultural

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sector networks will ensure a smooth leadership transition that supports the ongoing delivery of impactful RD&E outcomes for Australian grain growers.”

Woods thanked Cathie Warburton, who capably handled the interim managing director role during the executive recruitment campaign and will return to her position as general manager People, Communications and Governance.

The incoming managing director, who has recently been engaged in specialist consulting roles for several grains industry organisations, said he was looking forward to the opportunity to join GRDC. “Within Australia and internationally GRDC is recognised for spearheading cutting-edge research, development and extension in the grains sector and I am thrilled to have an opportunity to be a part of that,” Hart said.

“I have had a long involvement with the Australian grains sector, at many levels from on-farm experiences to working as Global Director for an international agribusiness organisation with destination markets across Asia, Europe, South America, and the United States.

New boss: Nigel Hart is the new managing director of the GRDC. Photo courtesy GRDC

“I hope my experience and understanding of the grains sector will add value to GRDC and together with GRDC staff we will continue to drive innovation and best practice in Australia’s grain sector,” Hart said.

No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

51

innovation

ACIAR is proud to support the Agricultural Research category of the Australian Farmer of the Year Awards.

ACIAR is the Australian Government’s specialist agricultural research-for-development agency. We broker, facilitate, invest in and manage strategic partnerships with public and private research institutions. Our work improves the productivity, sustainability, and resilience of agrifood systems in partner countries and Australia. aciar.gov.au

CROPPING BARLEY Crop topper: Yields of more than 10t/ha have been recorded in barley in the GRDC’s Hyper Yielding Crops research in South Australia.

Hyper yielding barley cracks 10 tonnes to the hectare Barley yields in excess of 10 tonnes per hectare have been recorded at Field Applied Research (FAR) Australia’s SA Crop Technology Centre, home to the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s (GRDC) Hyper Yielding Crops (HYC) research project in South Australia.

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he project, led by Field Applied Research (FAR) Australia is a four-year project spanning the high productivity regions of five states, and aims to push what are believed to be the economically attainable yield boundaries of wheat, barley and canola.

Over the term of the investment, the project team is focussing on supporting growers and advisers by identifying high yielding potential cultivars which are best suited to individual environments, and then recognising the most appropriate agronomic management strategies to assist with future decision making.

Dr Kenton Porker, FAR Australia’s research director, leads the HYC barley research portfolio.

“We wanted to increase the yield potential benchmarks of barley in the high rainfall zones, we therefore compared new winter and spring germplasm grown under HYC management packages against spring and winter controls in the traditional late April/early May sowing window,” said Dr Porker.

“At the core of increasing yield potential was early sowing, slower developing varieties and have included

www.farmingahead.com.au

a new range of two and six row winter barleys, never before tested in the HRZ regions of Australia.”

Sown on 21 April and topping the yield chart was the French barley cultivar Pixel developed by SECOBRA, a six-row winter barley which recorded a yield of 10.4 t/ha closely followed by Newton, a two-row winter barley with a yield of 9.7 t/ha.

Maximum yields achieved in the early sown spring cultivars were 8 t/ha in the current high rainfall control cultivars Planet and Rosalind among some other experimental spring lines. Mechanical defoliation (with a mower) to delay development did not increase yield on these cultivars.

The trial, identified by FAR Australia as the ‘elite screen time of sowing (TOS) 1 barley trial’ was sown on 21 April at its SA Crop Technology Centre in Millicent, SA, following a crop of faba beans.

The site is kindly hosted by local grower Brett Gilberston and sits on a neutral-slightly alkaline Organosol (Peat soil) with high organic matter.

Dr Porker said these results are an exciting development in earlier sowing

barley systems and it’s encouraging to see that introductions from international collaborators may be better suited to the longer cooler environments when managed correctly.

These results also suggest different management is required, and current and experimental spring cultivars may be less suited to earlier sowing.

Other research results from the centre will be released over the next month and will focus on the management to surpass 10 t/ha from earlier sowing as its different to spring barley, particularly the fact it requires less fungicide inputs, but likely to require more active management to keep the crop standard and support higher yield potentials.

“We are currently developing the research protocols for the 2022 season and look forward to using these findings to produce yields in excess of these numbers in the coming years of the project.”

For further details on the results of this trial, including final yields, inputs and grain quality, visit https://bit.ly/3t7bC7U More information: www.faraustralia.com.au No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

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WEATHER CLIMATE AND FORECASTING

124°E

128°E

132°E

136°E

140°E

144°E

148°E

152°E

148°E

152°E

18°S

120°E

18°S

116°E

Australia Soil Moisture Ranking 21st February 2022 compared to years 1922-2021 Shire boundary Wheatbelt boundary Wet

22°S

22°S

Soil moisture percentile ranges 100 95

Above average

90 80

26°S

26°S

Queensland

70 60

Average

40 30

Western Australia

20

30°S

10

South Australia

5

New South Wales

0

34°S

34°S

Dry

30°S

Below average

500

Victoria

38°S

Kilometres

38°S

0

(approximate only)

42°S

42°S

Based on data provided by the State of Queensland (Department of Environment and Resource Management) [2022] Mapped by Geographic Information Services, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, 2022

Tasmania C Agrometeorology Australia, 2022 116°E

120°E

124°E

128°E

132°E

136°E

140°E

144°E

Autumn moisture profiles shaping up well Kondinin Group has engaged Dr David Stephens from Agrometeorology Australia to produce these soil moisture maps for Kondinin Group members for the lead up to 2022 winter crop sowing.

T

he maps show shire names and are produced as close to realtime after rainfall is recorded at more than 1000 real-time rain stations across the country.

Farming Ahead will publish soil moisture maps online at the beginning of each month between now and April to assist growers with a summer cropping program. Readers are reminded that the latest images can also be found online at www.farmingahead.com.au

STATUS: 25 FEBRUARY, 2022 The soil moisture map this month from the Agromet Australia STIN crop model has changed from indicating the available soil moisture amount to a relative

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Farming Ahead March 2022 No. 362

ranking, that is, comparison between this year and past years. This map shows above normal soil moisture reserves in the plant rooting zone for the majority of the Australian grain belt.

La Niña conditions have coincided with above normal rains across much of eastern Australia from November to January and this has filled much of the deeper soil profiles in this area.

However, some drying at the surface has occurred in February in the southeast.

A region from southeast South Australia to northwest Victoria continues to miss out on rain.

In contrast, the Eyre Peninsula and north central of South Australia have very wet profiles from some of the wettest

conditions ever recorded in January and early February.

This coincided with the flooding that affected rail networks into Western Australia and the Northern Territory. A good top-up rain for surface moisture is predicted for eastern Australia for the end of February and early March east of the Eyre Peninsula.

In Western Australia, it has been relatively dry over summer. Good soil moisture reserves are seen in regions of the northeast and this includes moisture at depth from November rain and a recent top up with February storms. It has been very dry in the central southern wheatbelt where major bushfires occurred a few weeks ago. www.farmingahead.com.au

GRAIN MARKET INFORMATION PROFARMER Flat out: Record production and high demand has grain handling facilities almost at capacities. Photo: Mark Saunders

Grain supply chains in full swing The quantity and quality of wheat in New South Wales is seeing a shift in regular grain flows to port. Profarmer looks at why.

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educed production in major wheat exporting nations has seen global ending stocks decline for the second consecutive year and has driven up international wheat prices.

Australia’s record wheat production is seeing very strong international demand with exports forecast to reach 26 million tonnes this season.

Supply chains are in full swing moving stock to ports, though one unusual feature of the current season is the flow of grain.

Despite above average production in Victoria and South Australia, significant amounts of wheat are being freighted interstate from southern New South Wales for export.

Grain normally moves from southern New South Wales to Victorian ports for export as they are closer and offer more capacity than Port Kembla, but

the amounts moving into SA is unusual.

So why are exporters shunning stocks in the local state and favouring New South Wales wheat?

There are more bulk export options out of Victoria and SA than southern New South Wales, so exporters may not have capacity booked in Port Kembla.

Moving grain from New South Wales also enables trucks to backload fertiliser to take back upcountry, though the real reason comes down to quality.

Record wheat production in New South Wales had the shine taken off it as late rainfall downgraded quality with estimates that around 60 per cent of the crop was downgraded to feed quality, the predominant grade being SFW1.

The sheer volume of stock saw New South Wales feed prices drop by around $50 per tonne at harvest. Better quality wheat in Victoria and SA saw prices hold up a bit better and a price

differential of over $100 per tonne opened up between NSW and Victoria/ SA feed wheat.

CHINA Wheat exports are being dominated by China’s demand, which is primarily for feed wheat and is predominantly filled with ASW quality.

The variation in allowable specifications for SFW makes it ideal for blending into cargoes. When exporters are calculating their costs, the price of New South Wales SFW plus freight is still cheaper than Victorian or South Australian ASW plus freight.

If it’s cheaper to move grain 500 kilometres than to buy it closer to port, that’s exactly what exporters will do and continue to do until spreads narrow.

At the end of the day, supply chains are all about the highest efficiency at the lowest cost.

Figure 1. Pt Kembla SFW1 vs Pt Adelaide ASW1

www.farmingahead.com.au

No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

55

LIVESTOCK MARKET INFORMATION MECARDO

The bigger picture on livestock greenhouse gas emissions Criticism of livestock production systems greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions tends to revolve around emissions intensity.

This intensity of emissions was the lead argument in a recent polemic (called Shear Destruction) about the need to stop producing wool. There is a balance to be sought between defending an industry (or sector) from polemic attacks and giving serious issues their due. This article seeks to put agricultural GHG emissions in an overall context. By Andrew Woods

O

ne of the frustrating (to the author) facets of some reports is the use of varying units or comparisons by which to measure or demonstrate, in this case, the amount of GHG emissions for a given source such as converting the world GHG emissions for small ruminants into the number of cars in Australia.

In this article the measure of emissions will be kept to percentages, reflecting total emissions for a given source rather than the intensity of emissions (emissions per kg).

Figure 1 shows the estimated GHG emissions for Australia in the year to March 2021 from the Federal Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources.

Electricity generation is the largest contributor (33 per cent) of greenhouse emissions, with the combined contribution of electricity, stationary energy and transport of 70 per cent.

Agriculture is the next largest contributor at 14.9 per cent.

Fugitive emissions from fossil fuels (occurring from mining through to Figure 1. Australian GHG emissions in the year to March 2021

Source: Dept. Industry, Science, Energy and Resources

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Farming Ahead March 2022 No. 362

distribution) at 10 per cent are two thirds that of agriculture in its entirety.

The next schematic, Figure 2, breaks up Australian agricultural emissions by source.

Grazing beef is the largest source, accounting for 44 per cent of emissions.

Sheep come next, accounting for 18 per cent (which can probably be split in half for wool and sheep meat production) with dairy accounting for 10 per cent and grain-fed beef three per cent.

So three quarters of the agricultural GHG emissions come from ruminants.

Figure 3 adjusts the data from Figure 2 to show the proportion of total Australian GHG emissions by agricultural source. From an overall perspective, ruminants account for 11.1 per cent of Australian GHG emissions, about the same as the fugitive emissions from the fossil fuel industry.

Beef accounts for seven per cent, sheep 2.7 per cent (1.3-1.4 per cent each for sheep meat and wool) and dairy 1.5 per cent. Ruminant emissions are large enough to warrant attention, but they pale in comparison to the 80 per cent of emissions contributed by energy, transport and fugitive emissions.

Carbon Myopia which was published last year seeks to encourage more thought about livestock systems and their role in the world when GHG emissions are being analysed.

At a basic level, ruminants convert fibrous materials and forages into protein, and in lower and middle income countries (LMIC) have a range of other roles. Some two thirds of ruminant emissions come from LMIC, so meaningful action with regard to ruminant emissions will need to take into account ruminants with the cultures of LMIC. The Carbon Myopia report also notes the wide range of emissions estimates made for ruminants, which intimates potential for reducing emissions.

Figure 2. Emissions sources in Australian agriculture

Figure 3. Emissions sources in Australian agriculture as a proportion of total Australian emissions

Source: Grattan Institute; Towards net zero: Practical policies to reduce agricultural emissions

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Livestock products do have high emissions intensities, but there is scope in the wide variation of these intensities for the average intensity to be lowered.

As it stands, a world of high income countries with a much reduced ruminant population would make a very small dent in GHG emissions.

Source: Grattan Institute; ICS

www.farmingahead.com.au

INTERNATIONAL MARKET NEWS AEGIC

Sprouted wheat a good option for animal feed in Asian markets International feed grain buyers are receiving expert advice on how to incorporate sprouted wheat into animal rations, following a wet Australian harvest in some areas resulting in sprouted crops.

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ustralian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC) chief executive officer Richard Simonaitis said AEGIC quickly moved to support Australian grain traders and international customers with technical information on the use of sprouted wheat for animal feed.

“Sprouted wheat is actually equivalent to non-sprouted wheat in nutritional value for animal feed, unless the sprouting is extensive,” he said.

“In most cases, sprouted wheat can be used freely as a feed component as long as all the standard quality parameters are in place.

“The Australian industry is doing everything possible to find a home for the downgraded wheat available this season to preserve some value for growers.”

Developed by Australian animal feed nutrition experts, the packages provide evidence on the suitability of sprouted wheat and practical advice on how to use it for animal feed.

“In most cases, sprouted wheat can be used freely as a feed component as long as all the standard quality parameters are in place.”

– AEGIC chief executive officer Richard Simonaitis Simonaitis said AEGIC rapidly developed technical information packages to support the trade and use of sprouted wheat from the current season, in consultation with the Australian grain trade.

AEGIC is currently presenting this information via webinars to grain customers in markets including China, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia.

Wheat feed: Downgraded wheat might be destined for new markets thanks to AEGIC. Photo: Mark Saunders www.farmingahead.com.au

No. 362 March 2022 Farming Ahead

57

IDEAS AND INNOVATIONS MARCH Feed easy: Ben Creek’s sheep feeder can be operated from the vehicle cab.

Photos courtesy Ben Creek

Next level sheep feeding

W

IFI capabilities can make many things easier on the farm and Ben Creek, Boyup Brook, Western Australia is using the wireless technology to help with his sheep feeding.

The wireless set up is called Target Control and is supplied by Eagle Eye Engineering at Brookton in WA, who Ben has been working with to develop improvements for the sheep feeder.

Ben farms with his wife Esther and son Theo and together they run 8000 Merinos

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Farming Ahead March 2022 No. 362

of 20-21 micron wool diameter. The Creeks also crop canola, barley oats and lupins.

Ben said the Target Control system can be run from his phone and he can program how much is to be delivered.

“If you want to feed 1kg per head, for 500 ewes for example, then you just plug that into the app on your phone and off you go.”

The feeder trailer is fitted with load cells and with the app, all data can be recorded and exported to an Excel file.

The 3.5 tonne capacity feeder has a 60:40 split bin and an electric clutch to help with loading on the auger.

“It can be used for containment feeding into troughs and we have also used it for augering some canola seed into bulk bags.”

Nice work with the sheep feeder upgrades Ben. If you have an Idea and Innovation for the Farming Ahead magazine, email a photo and some details to contact@kondinin.com.au or text it to 040 111 FARM (040 111 3276).

www.farmingahead.com.au

FARM PHOTO MARCH

Click go the family shears

S

hearing is a family affair on the Hayes property, Broadview Pastoral, at Boho in north-east Victoria.

Mum Liz and her husband Matt (pictured shearing) are kept busy with their three kids, Ella, Ava and Angus as well as organising the shearing.

Four-year-old Ella is always happy to

quality control the raw product and Liz captured the ‘snug as a bug in a wool rug’ moment.

Matt’s older brother Chris looks after the official classing duties while nephew Jeremy is also a shearer.

Thanks Liz for sending in the images of what is no doubt a busy but productive time on the farm.

If you have a farm photo you reckon would look good on our farm photo page, sending it to us via Facebook, Twitter, or message it from your phone to 040 111 FARM (040 111 3276).

Alternatively, you can email it to contact@kondinin.com.au.

Monthly winners receive a pair of boots thanks to our friends at Blundstone.

HARD AT WORK SINCE 1870.

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